Shadowgate A Fullmetal Alchemist FanFiction
by Fullmetal.Alchemist.Fan
Summary: Edward Elric-on the outside and inside, a genius in math, science, and alchemy. With the helps of his friends, and his true love not Winry-she has another in mind... , he makes it through when the Gate takes over him and sends a shadow into his soul...
1. Part 1: Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

_Edward Elric, 17 years. Male. Fullmetal Alchemist._

Edward Elric, a short blond, looked at the computer screen he had his left hand on, and sighed. Alphonse Elric, a 16-year-old, sandy-haired boy with amber-grey eyes and a calm personality, stood behind him, his huge eyes shining with curiousity.

Alphonse smiled, then spoke up, his sweet, soft voice ringing like a beautiful bell in the middle of spring, "Nii-san, what are those things called again?"

"Computers, and I told you, you can call me Brother," Edward looked back, his golden eyes teasing his younger brother. Ed's hair was long and in a ponytail, but often you would see him with braided hair, especially if he were around his friend in his hometown, Resembool.

The friend's name was Winry Rockbell. She had lighter blond hair than both Edward and Elric, and also had large blue eyes. A natural tomboy, she was Edward's mechanic.

Oh, Edward didn't own a car. He had an auto-mail right arm and left leg, because he and Alphonse had attempted a human transmutation of their dead mother when Ed was 10 and Al was 9. Because of it, Ed lost his leg, and Alphonse had died. Edward traded his right arm for Al's soul, and set out on an adventure to get Al's body back.

Ed had succeeded-but was sent to your world, landing in Germany. Finally Al made it through the gate to Ed, and the two had returned a half year later, after closing the gate for good.

But their deed was not done. Somehow, a Japanese citizen from our day and age found their way through the gate, and had changed the 1925, world of Amestris with their technology. For example, the hand-reading computer in front of Edward now.

Ed and Al never bothered to close it again. They had enough of the Gate and it's mysteries. Ed would also have physical pain if he got close to any of the Gate's monsters. Does it sound frightening already? Now you understand why Ed and Al just went back to military duties in Amestris instead of fiddling with the inside truths of alchemy.

"But, I've always called you nii-san!" Alphonse countered.

Edward laughed, "Yea, but the Japanese call their brothers nii-san, too. You're an Amestrisian."

Alphonse sighed and followed his brother into Eastern Command where his older brother worked. Ed had joined the military at 12 to have access to funds that would supply their search of how to restore Al's body. Ed found that the money was still useful-as Ed often ate as much as he could at a restaurant-so he continued to work at Eastern Command, even though Ed didn't care about the government or the country of Amestris' upholding. The elder of the two brothers just cared about people's safety, no matter how macho and defiant he seemed at first. That was proven by his common statement in the old days where enemies threatened to kill Al. Ed would say, "Kill me! I'd die for Alphonse any day! Do whatever you want to me! Just don't you DARE touch Al!"

You can figure out the rest.

As Ed walked into the large office where he worked with his subordinates, he saluted to all of them, and hung his red jacket on the coat hanger. He had switched to a military uniform a while ago, but he found comfort in the ragged, worn out jacket, and now continued to wear it everyday, along with his black undergarments.

"Hello, Fullmetal," called Colonel Roy Mustang from his wooden, dark brown desk. He could barely see the shrimp-sized teen from over his large stack of papers, but he didn't dare say that in Ed's face. He could get rater…temperamental about his height. After all, he was still about the height of an average-sized 13-15-year-old. He was taller than Ms. Winry Rockbell, but Al was a man, too, and had loved and drunk milk unlike Edward all his life, so Al was at least 3 inches taller than Ed. To make himself happy, Ed wore platform boots and let a stray bang stick up into the air, forming a sort of antennae.

"Yeah, whatever," Ed could care less about Roy had to say. Roy, the Flame Alchemist, was the most of his problems in the military. _I'm doing this for Al…and the money_, Ed reminded himself before he could pick Roy up by the collar and shake him around the room.

Roy Mustang was around 30 or 31 years old, and most Colonels were at least 45 or older. Roy had many enemies in the military because of his high rank and simultaneous young age, so he had many subordinates working under him. Such as Major Edward Elric and Second Lt. Riza Hawkeye, who he had a crush on but often rejected him, while giving him the utmost respect at the same time.

Al looked around the large room, clicking and typing noses filling his ears. Then he sat down next to "Nii-san" and watched him read through papers then sign them. This was how everyday went at work, ever since Edward settled down. And Alphonse liked it this way.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

Edward wolfed down his turkey sandwich, layered with tons of pickles and cheese-amazing to some, since he hated milk since it "tasted like vomit"-but then noticed Al was fiddling with his fingers, not finishing his apple pie.

Edward spoke up, "Hey, Al, that's Aunt Gracia's pie. You should eat it. I thought you wanted to taste it after you got your human body back…" Aunt Gracia was their late friend, Brigadier General Maes Hughes's wife. Their 4-year-old daughter, Elysia Hughes, had light brown hair in two pony-tails, pinned up by two green marbles on each side. Her wide green eyes were always curious, and she often played with Ed, Al, and Winry when they visited her. Elysia reminded Edward of Nina, a little girl who had been turned into a talking chimera and killed by the now-dead Scar.

"I want to go home," Al blurted out softly.

Edward was taken aback. Usually Al went along with Ed wherever he went, never complaining and making the best out of everything, or fighting by Ed's side. When Al had added an item of food to his black leather diary and wasn't eating it, Al must have something important to say.

It was the middle of the day, and Ed was supposed to hurry back to work. "Work, feh. Let's catch a train to Resembool right now, okay?" Edward stood up and stretched. Afraid that he would dine and run, the waiter rushed up to him, "Son, your bill…?"

Edward sighed and tossed a bill over to the waiter, then walked away with Al. The waiter looked at the bill, then his eyes widened, "WHAT KIND OF LITTLE SHRIMP CAN DISH OUT THIS KIND OF MONEY?!" The customers around him looked up in confusion and interest.

Edward smirked as he walked away, then froze in his tracks. Al realized what Ed was anxious about, and had stopped as well with a sigh. "WHO YOU CALLING SO SHORT HIS HEIGHT IN INCHES IS THE NUMBER ON A LITTLE KID'S MATH HOMEWORK?!" Edward spun around in a rage and ran back towards the waiter. The guy screamed, and ran around the open-air restaurant, Edward frantically chasing him and accusing him of saying things he hadn't even muttered.

Alphonse laughed heartily at the common sight. Every time someone mentioned Edward's height, the elder of the two would get angrier than a pissed-off bull and start screaming.

~*~

"Hey, Aunt Pinako!" Edward yelled, waving his auto-mail right hand in the air.

"Grandma Pinako!!!" Alphonse yelled, his voice even more cheerful than Edward's. The young teen sped ahead of Edward and hugged the old woman waiting for them at Rockbell Auto-Mail Shop. Pinako Rockbell was an elderly woman who took care of the 17-year-old Winry Rockbell since her parents died in the Ishbalan War. She was also half the size of the short Edward, and was getting closer to being a third, since Edward was growing.

Edward used to be the same height as Winry, but as time went by, both became teens and Edward, still not drinking milk, grew to be a few inches taller than Winry, who DID drink milk, like Alphonse.

"I need some maintenance, Aunt Pinako," Edward held his right shoulder with his left hand, then rolled his elbow in a circle, in an effort to show how stiff him metal arm was.

"I think it's your short body making you stiff. You're not letting your spine grow," Pinako smirked and fiddled with her pipe.

Edward was immediately enraged, and he shouted back, "YOU'RE NO TALLER, YOU MINI-HAG!"

"SHRIMPCAKE!" Pinako screamed back.

"MICRO GRANNY!"

"LITTLE CAT!"

This enraged Ed more than everything-Al tried to save every stray kitten he saw. Ed hated cats, as well as milk and needles, "WRINKLED SNOT-FACE!"

"HEY, ED!" a younger voice shouted.

Edward instinctively looked up to one of the second-floor windows of the Rockbell's house. Winry was known to always show up there-since her bedroom and workroom was in that area-and say goodbye or hello to them. Right now, she was giving Ed the natural greeting she always gave him.

A spanner-a.k.a. large, long wrench about ¾ the length of a teen's arm-flew down from the window, smacking Ed on his left temple. The teenage boy fell to the ground, cradling his wounded head in both hands. A small stream of blood trickled from in between his fingers.

"Nii-san!" Alphonse immediately ran to Edward's side, his laughter from Edward and Aunt Pinako's inside height joke gone.

A blond girl with large blue eyes was leaning over the edge of the porch, her voice ringing with annoyance, "You two need to call me before you come, dammit!"

"Winry!" Alphonse sighed, laughing softly.

Winry's long hair hung over each side of her head, and spiky bangs covered her forehead. She normally had the rest of her hair in a bun or in a clip of some kind, but today it was out and flowing over her shoulders, "Hey, Alphonse! How are you?"

"I'm fine!" Alphonse replied, putting Edward's throbbing head on his lap.

Edward snorted angrily, "What about me?!"

Winry huffed and turned away, "You're just a dork." The teenage girl had on a strapped, black shirt that had a front zipper and a wide, white stripe down the middle. Her belly was uncovered, and she also had cargo pants on. Her shoes-which she kicked off at this moment-were blue-and-white Converses. An army green bandana was tied around her head, "Come inside before I have to replace your wrinkled brain with an auto-mail one, you alchemy otaku."

"Engineering otaku," Edward muttered, using the Japanese word for "freak".

Once the two traveling brothers were inside, Winry started out by putting a secure bandage on Edward's wound. Winry might be an expert auto-mail mechanic, but both of her late parents were doctors. As a small child, while Ed and Al were catching up on their father's alchemy books, she was busing digging into medical books with words some adults might have trouble understanding. And to prove her skill, she once delivered a baby, and both the baby and the mother were still living to this day. And not one casualty happened on that rainy day.

"Now, what do you need fixing? I'm charging you an idiot fee," Winry scolded Edward, wagging her finger at him, "You always show up, stay for three days, then leave for four years."

"That happened once! This is the third time this month I've seen your ugly face," Edward snapped.

Winry immediately pulled out her wrench from her back pocket and wacked him upside the head, "SHUT UP! Al's just getting homesick. You can't blame him. It must be part of the human mind, not the soul, to want to be where you were born. I mean, animals always come back to their birthplace to have babies."

Suddenly, Alphonse and Winry blushed. Edward saw their discomfort, and spoke up, "Well, I haven't been fighting with my auto-mail arm recently, because I haven't been busying myself with the Gate and stuff, so I guess my muscles are kind of sore."

"You can spar out front, then," Winry beamed, putting her hands on her hips proudly, "We flattened the yard out front with the help of our neighbors. After you finish, take a shower and visit Pitt. Then come back for lunch."

"Great! I remember Pitt…kind of," Alphonse put the edge of his index finger into his mouth. A brown, curly-haired boy named Pitt was now a doctor in a small town unlike Resembool, and Ed and Al had met him on their travels long ago when Ed was about 14 (Al is always 1 year younger than Ed, and Ed's b-day is in December). "He returned to Resembool?"

"Yea, his father has a little cold. Overreacting," Winry giggled. Alphonse blushed and laughed as well, and Ed and Pinako chimed in cheerfully.

Edward got up and rubbed his sore head, then rolled his arm in a wide circle, "Let's go outside, Al, and spar. Wouldn't want Master sneaking up on us while we're resting, would we?"

Alphonse smiled, "Nope," and got up and stretched. He opened the door and jogged outside, but then politely held it open for Edward. The elder brother thanked Al and walked past him.

Edward skipped to the other side of the field, golden eyes burning, "I'll beat you this time, Al!"

"Just don't go easy on me, this time! I'm sure I've recovered, Nii-san!" Alphonse chuckled, planting his feet right outside the porch stairs.

Edward sneered and rushed forward, his feet flying over the ground. He jumped over the ground at the last moment, kicking his foot out and screaming. Alphonse flipped backwards and crossed his arms, blocking Edward's second kick. Then Alphonse thrust both of his arms out, sending Edward flying back onto his butt three meters away.

"Feh!" Edward shouted in embarrassment, getting up and dusting his black leather pants off. Alphonse laughed and waited for Edward to attack. Sure enough, the embarrassed teen put his hands to the ground and pushed himself into the air. He flew down at Alphonse, his small fist whizzing by Alphonse's head when the younger brother stepped to the side and grabbed Ed's wrist. He swung Edward around and threw him face-first to the ground.

Edward rolled, rolled, and _rolled_, finally stopping when he was sprawled out on the ground. He lifted his face off the ground and spit out a mouthful of dirt, "That was quick!"

Alphonse grinned. He knew that Edward wasn't really hurt. Ed usually bled when he was hurt, and even then he never let anyone take care of him unless he had made sure no one else was injured.

Edward hopped to his feet and stretched, "Let's go to Pitt's house!"

Alphonse grinned, "Yea!"


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

Alphonse gingerly knocked on Pitt's door, his gray-gold eyes filled with worry. He paused, but then whipped around to face Edward, now crying, "What if he's not home?!!!"

"Don't be a crybaby," Edward snorted and kicked on Pitt's door. A loud grunt was heard from inside, and Edward smirked, "See? He's home-or someone is."

The door opened to reveal a tired man about Edward's age and height, perhaps a millimeter shorter than the younger Alphonse. He had brown, curly haired and freckles on his flat cheeks. His dark blue eyes showed sleepiness and annoyance, "Who the heck are you two-Ed and Al?!?!?!" The boy immediately straightened his back and stood back to back with Ed, "I'M TALLER!"

"NO YOU'RE NOT, YOU FREAK!" Edward stood on his tiptoes to gain effect, while the man-named Pitt-did the same.

"I'M TALLER, EDO-CHAN!"

"I'M THE BIGGEST!"

"THAT MEANS YOU'RE FAT! HA!"

"THEN I'LL LAY ON MY SIDE! I'LL BE TALLER!"

Alphonse laughed at their silliness, "You two…"

Suddenly, a middle-aged woman appeared at the doorway. Her wavy brown hair resembled Pitt's, but her eyes were a pale yellow, as if she were blind. Luckily, she was not. "Oh, it's your friends, Ed and Al." She said it nonchalantly, but jokingly as well.

Edward smirked playfully, "Don't we matter, Mrs. Sead?"

Mrs. Sead laughed, "Come in! I baked pumpkin pie!"

Edward and Alphonse cheered, "Hooray!" and hurried inside behind Mrs. Sead and Pitt. Pitt led them into the kitchen, where he pulled out two light brown, wooden chairs and sat down in one of the remaining three chairs. Mrs. Sead immediately headed for the oven, and pulled out something with her oven mitts. Immediately, a savory smell filled the room, making Ed and Al's mouth water.

"How about I make another three pies for you to take home to Winry and Mrs. Pinako?" Mrs. Sead asked them politely.

Ed and Al looked at each other with pure delight.

_Home…Winry and Mrs. Pinako…_

"Sure!" they cheered together, laughing joyfully. Pitt chuckled along as well at their silliness, and Mrs. Sead giggled and set down the light brown pumpkin pie.

The pie was darker around the edges, but slowly grew more and more golden as you went more towards the middle. The smell of cooked pumpkin and brown sugar filled the brothers' nostrils, and they jumped in their seats like 10-year-olds with anticipation and glee.

Mrs. Sead cut out pieces for each of the boys and set it out in front of them, "There you go."

Ed immediately dug into the pumpkin pie, while Al decided to eat it slowly. The younger brother picked off small pieces of the crust, then bit off even smaller pieces. He then rolled them around in his mouth, licking off the soft parts first, then crushing the hard crust slowly with his back teeth.

Pitt simply ate half of his pie in one bite, and hungrily eyed the other while trying to down the big piece he had halfway in his mouth and halfway down his throat.

Mrs. Sead whacked Pitt's back, annoyed, "Stop choking yourself!"

Pitt smiled, and his mother laughed and said, "I can't stay mad with you, Pitt Sead."

The boys finished their pieces of pie and talked cheerfully with Pitt and Mrs. Sead, conversing about old times and their lives ever since the last time they met. Ed, Al, and Mrs. Sead had the most to tell-they hadn't seen each other since Ed was 13. Ed and Al met Pitt during his training when Ed was 15 and Al was 13 going on 14-Al's birthday was in the first part of the year, in January, so Ed actually gained a year and a month off of Al. Al wished his birthday were in the middle of the summer, but Ed told him he "would just have to catch up in height by a year and a half instead of a year and a month". Al didn't exactly get what he meant by that.

Once they were done telling each other about their travels and having a good time, it was around 4 P.M. "Aw, darn it all. Winry's gonna kill us for not being home by lunchtime," Ed looked at his watch and scowled.

"You mean we're late?!" Al exclaimed. His eyes shone with worry.

"You two don't need to worry. Just bring some pies back. Girls like pies," Pitt smirked. Mrs. Sead yelped in surprise and anger at that comment from the kitchen, since the boys had moved into the living room.

Ed rolled his eyes-he had loved Winry before, and she had loved him back, but Al loved Winry dearly, and soon enough, Winry and Ed didn't have many feelings for each other anymore. It went back to the way things were. Ed regretted that he had kissed, hugged, and slept on the couch with Winry before, because Alphonse now had a crush on her. The two teens now just silently told themselves to forget about the past, while Al's feelings for Winry grew with each passing day.

Ed picked the three pies off the table-cherry, sweet potato, and apple-and then smiled as Alphonse came out of the kitchen with another four. By the smells, Ed could tell they were lemon, strawberry, peach, and…cranberry? "There's cranberry sauce in the top one. Mrs. Sead marked it," Alphonse told his older brother. Ed nodded and they waved good-bye to the family, then headed towards their own house.

When they reached their house, the first thing that greeted them at the door was a lawn chair headed straight for Al and Ed. Al ducked and it smacked Ed, hitting him in the forehead. "GAH!" Ed fell back down the steps, and Al luckily caught the three pies Ed had been holding and had dropped as he fell.

"You idiots! Coming home this late! You must be hungry!" Winry's voice was filled with rage, but grew softer and was taken over by worry as she rushed up to them.

"You're the idiot," Edward muttered, holding his head, "Now you'll just waste all your bandages."

"You're fault for being a stuck-up know-it-all. What's worse is you really do know it all," Winry smirked and walked inside, taking three pies from Al's stack and heading towards the kitchen, "Pies from Mrs. Sead?! Yum! Hey, Aunt Pinako! Mrs. Sead baked _seven pies_ for us!"

"How wonderful!" the old voice rang from the kitchen over the sound of dishes and running water.

"You bet! And Ed needs ice."

"You hit him again? That's my girl."

"Yup!" Winry laughed, Alphonse chuckling beside her. Ed finally limped inside, scowling.

_Family…Winry and Aunt Pinako…we've finally got it, Alphonse. We finally have a family._

Alphonse understood this type of silence from Edward, and he looked back and grinned cheerfully, with a look that said:

_Yes, we do, brother. Yes, we do._


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"Soldiers!"

"HAI!" the subordinates, including Ed-and an ever-faithful Alphonse-saluted to Colonel Mustang.

"I want you all to go investigate the alchemy attacks in the Cave of Gates. There has been some mysterious activity there by jailbird escapees, and I want them captured. To warn you, one of them is a homunculus, and the others aren't your everyday, petty criminals." Roy ordered, pacing along the line of subordinates.

"HAI!" everyone but Ed and Al replied. Edward was frozen, and Alphonse was filled with worry. And Edward froze up for extremely important reasons.

The Cave of Gates was were Edward and Alphonse-with the help of Winry and their military friends-sealed the Gate and escaped the Devil and his monsters. The Devil looked a lot like Greed, and Edward had a 99.9% hunch that he had something to do with Greed, and had definitely met him more than once.

To go there again was to mess with the Gate, the Devil, and IT.

But Alphonse was looking for an opportunity like this. They could travel with their buddies again, and more than likely, they could split from the group and study on their own. It was time with Edward he wanted, and now he had it within his grasp. No, in his palms. If he didn't grab it now…

"Let's go there, Edward!" Alphonse shouted proudly.

Edward was taken aback for the second time in just two days. Usually Al didn't surprise him like this…especially when he was armor.

"Don't give me that look! I know you. Let's go there, please?" Alphonse pleaded. He knew Ed would listen if he pleaded. Edward cared for him so much, he would do anything Al wanted. Whether it was brotherly love, homesickness, or justice, Alphonse did nothing without reason and looked up to Edward as a role model and a hero of the universe and alchemy itself. And Edward knew that.

Except that "hero of the universe and alchemy itself" part.

"Okay, let's go," Edward smiled, "Let's stop in Rush Valley on the way."

"And Dublith!" Alphonse smiled at the thought of returning to their old teacher's house.

During their adventure in the Cave of Gates, Edward and Alphonse managed to bring Maes Hughes, Izumi Curtis, and Lust back to life. Maes Hughes was now working in Central and was in charge of Western Command, happily reunited with his wife and daughter and earning more than ever.

Izumi Curtis was back with her husband, Sig Curtis, and was training the kids in her neighborhood self defense, and was planning on opening a huge school for the military and anyone who lived in Amestris-including Ishbalans. The only reason she trained the military was because she liked to annoy, tease, and be mean to them, since she hated them anyway.

And Lust was helping the Ishbalans and Amestrisians not have so much racial differences with each other. She was known throughout Amestris as a hero of the people as well.

Edward and Alphonse really left their mark on people, and it showed.

Roy overheard them, and he walked over to them as the other subordinates dispersed. "I know you two are the ones who have committed that short while in the Cave of Gates to memory…" Roy sighed and scratched his head, "But I'd like you to go there. Take your time, but don't drop out on me."

"We're planning on restocking on strength on the way," Edward spat.

"And happiness, family, and food!" Alphonse cheered, punching his fists up in the air.

Roy scowled at Edward, then beamed at the brothers, "That's good. You might want to get a good attitude and some bigger boots, Edward."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Ed shouted back, standing on his tip-toes angrily, as Roy walked away, his back to the short blonde. The whole office erupted with laughter.

~*~

_We have now arrived in Rush Valley._

Edward scowled at the new train, technology and all. Computers and TVs lined what the Japanese called a "subway train", and panels had green, dotted words rolling across the screen. At that moment, they flashed and switched from LEAVING LIOR to STOP: RUSH VALLEY.

"Nii-san, we're here," Alphonse tugged on Edward's torn, red coat. The elder brother sighed and stood up, grabbing his luggage from the Japanese overhead compartments, "Darn Japanese…"

"Hiromu Arakawa and Makoto Inoue are said to be visiting Rush Valley, Amestris. Ms. Arakawa knew that Amestris existed. It's how you became famous on Earth, right?" Alphonse hoped to cheer Edward up. The shorter blonde's rough sleeping time on the overnight train had done him no good, even though he had rested in a hotel in Lior while Alphonse looked for books on the Cave of Gates.

"Hiromu Arakawa?" Edward paused, then shook his head, "She may have known what we did because of her dreams, and same with Makoto, but you have your body back. That movie she made didn't stay true for long. We're on a different path, and they can't possibly know what we do because of the rift between Earth and Amestris."

Alphonse nodded, "Their alchemy."

Hiromu Arakawa and Makoto Inoue were one of the lucky few-1 in every 3 million, in fact-to live on Earth and have alchemy. Most of the time it was mental alchemy, which was different in itself. Those two Japanese women's mental alchemy mixed with their inventiveness, and they ended up have a mental connection with the lives of Edward and Alphonse Elric. They knew exactly what they were going to do beforehand, and had relayed their adventures in the Fullmetal Alchemist series.

Edward didn't like the Japanese, but he admired any Earthling who had the powers of alchemy when Earthlings' futures held technology and seismologists instead of alchemy and state alchemists, "I guess we could visit them."

"Really? Even though they might not be here?!" Alphonse clenched his fists and smiled.

Edward looked up at Al with disbelief and scowled, which made Alphonse guffaw with laughter.

The brothers hurried off the train and waved good-bye to the conductor and his apprentice, an Ishbalan they knew well. His name was Kip Egger, a light-haired boy who was about 13 years old. He also had a foster mother, Shelley Egger. His foster father, a former state alchemist named Luon Egger, was in jail for draining citizens of blood. Edward had re-read all of this in a Fullmetal Alchemist book called The Ties That Bind.

As soon as they reached the military hotel there, they recognized a face they never expected to see for a long time.

"Colonel Armstrong!" Alphonse shouted with glee to the newly-ranked, buff man as soon as the Colonel saw them.

"ARMSTRONG?!?!" Edward dropped his suitcase, eyes wide, and he dashed for the door. However, Armstrong was impossibly fast for someone of his weight, and he picked Ed off the ground and hugged him, or rather, crushed every bone inside of him.

"OH, EDWARD! IT IS THE ONE WHO HAS THE MOST BROTHERLY LOVE IN THE WORLD!" Armstrong yelled, pink sparkles swirling around his oval-shaped face.

"SHUT UP ABOUT THAT!" Edward snapped, but was cut off as Armstrong tore off his shirt and hugged him even tighter.

The hotel manager behind the desk almost literally sweatdropped.

"EDWARD, YOU NEED TO HAVE SOME MANNERS!" Armstrong yelped, squeezing the air out of Edward, "I'M HERE TO SEE ROY GET PROMOTED TO BRIGADIER GENERAL!"

"Huh?" Ed was suddenly let go, and he skidded across the floor, and when he stopped, he was twitched uncontrollably.

"Yes! He will soon be Brigadier General Mustang. Ms. Winry and Mrs. Pinako are here as well. They seem to be waiting for someone…" Armstrong hinted.

Alphonse blushed, but Edward jumped to his feet in a rage, "That's no reason to crush me!"

Armstrong looked ready to cry and hug Ed AND Al again, so Edward quickly straightened his posture, "We have to get to our room! We can't stay for long. Colonel gave all of us a mission."

"Ah, a mission," Armstrong sighed. Small pink sparkles started appearing around his eyes.

At that note, Edward and Alphonse dashed upstairs, forgetting to check in. The manager, used to this behavior by now, sighed deeply and checked them off on the list.

~*~

"Hey, Winry?" Edward called into the hallway on the fourth floor. Winry was almost always on the third or fourth floor, and the third floor seemed to be deserted. Ed and Al would usually hear tinkering and metal banging together when they were near Winry, and the third floor was quieter than a ghost town. She was definitely not there.

As they had guessed, an aggravated scream sounded from the middle of the hallway, and Ed and Al grimaced and smile at each other. They opened the door to Room 415, and saw Winry banging her head on a desk, "DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT!"

"Something wrong, Winry?" Ed inquired, rubbing his chin and smirking.

"Do you need help, Winry?" Alphonse said more politely, studying what Winry had been working on.

It was a new and improved version of Ed's auto-mail arm. Shinier than any other new model she had invented before, it closely resembled a human man's arm. Beside her work papers, blueprints, and metalwork was a large map of the human anatomy, including different pictures of the muscles, bones, bloodstreams, organs, and much more. It looked like something an alchemist would have made. At the bottom was a signature:

_Tucker_.

"Hey, it's Mr. Tucker," Alphonse sadly recalled Nina Tucker and her father, the Sewing-Life Alchemist.

Edward simply snorted, crossed his arms, and looked away as if he were agitated by the name itself.

"Yes, it is," Winry replied sadly, holding her head in her hands and gently stroking her temples, "But I just can't get it. How can I make a perfect model of a human arm? I'm using Japanese technology, and it's working well for my auto-mail, but it's refusing to some of the bolts I put in-"

"Forget the Japanese technology and use the old stuff!" Edward snapped in a rage, spinning around. He almost snarled, then sneered, "I loved the old auto-mail just the way it was."

"This IS the old auto-mail, freakazoid," Winry retorted softly. Ed shut his mouth.

"So," Winry continued, "I heard you guys are on a military mission. Roy told me."

"Yea, but we're visiting Rush Valley and Dublith on the way. We can take our time. He told us," Ed retorted sarcastically.

Winry smirked up at him, and got out of her wooden chair, which was near the door, "Well, I also heard that there are some new faces here. Maybe you should say hello."

"That's a good idea. We have tons of friends, right, Ed? And they've helped us," Alphonse smiled.

"Except for Lin Yao and his two fiends, Lan Fan and Grandpa What's-his-face," Ed snorted, crossing his arms. On their first journey to the Cave of Gates, those three people from Xing had met them on the way to the Cave of Gates on a mountain bridge made of thin rock, but later abandoned them. Ed had lied and said he knew that "good-for-nothing food-eater" was going to do that anyway.

"Well, I guess," Ed finally shrugged, as if he didn't care.

"There's someone in 614 I think you'll like!" Winry sang in a sing-song voice. Edward perked up at this. How could Winry possibly know that? But before he could ask, Winry went back to playing with the auto-mail arm, and she continued, "When you're done, I'm trying this arm on you."

"Yea, right!" came Ed's reply as the two brothers dashed out of the door and raced each other up the stairs.

Once they knocked on the door of the room 614, both boys were panting. "You…won…that…one…" Edward panted, defeated. He was faster than Al's armor, but he didn't stand a chance against Al's human form. Short legs may be an advantage when running, but Ed's body was naturally made for fighting-not running at cheetah-paced speeds up two flights up stairs. It was a close call, but both knew who had won that one.

They both stood up straight when the door opened, and then their mouths opened when they saw the person that the door had concealed from them before now.

She looked like Lan Fan, only she had bigger, rounder silver/gray-black eyes, yet her black hair was the same. She looked as if she were from Xing, but her big eyes and pinker skin were of an Amestrisian. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail, which naturally split into three parts at the very end. Her mouth was in a small "o" when she studied the two boys before her, "Um…" Her young voice was of a 16-year-old.

"We're…" Ed tried to say, but he was out of breath.

"I know who you are!" she retorted, then she softened her voice, "You're Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. And you're his younger brother, Alphonse Elric, the Armor Alchemist." Alphonse wasn't a state alchemist, but he was one of the Elric brothers, and was given a name like Edward's for having such a knack for science, alchemy in particular.

The bad side was fan girls followed them everywhere-at least in Lior, they did.

"I'm Kylee," the black-haired girl dipped her head in respect, then she sneered, "What are you two doing here?"

"We're here for Colonel Roy Mustang," Ed rolled his eyes sarcastically.

Al frowned at his older brother, then turned back to Kylee, "We're on a military mission, and we're stopping in Rush Valley. Who knew the Colonel was being promoted to Brigadier General? I thought the higher ups didn't like the Colonel…"

Kylee shrugged, then she laughed.

"WHAT?" Ed and Al looked at each other in confusion.

"You thought my name was really Kylee! That's just my Amestrisian name!" the so-called Kylee laughed as hard as she could, then stepped out of the doorway and into the hall, "Come in! Come in…I have tea I could serve you."

"I'm not hungry," Alphonse immediately said the phrase he had gotten so used to saying.

Edward laughed, "Yes you are! Thanks, Ky-wait, what's your real name?"

"Kaori Nichibotsu," she smiled and walked into the back of the hotel room.

"Her last name means 'sunset' in Japanese, Nii-san," Alphonse pointed out, following Kaori inside.

Ed was silent. He wasn't so sure about Kaori; if he should put his trust in her.

Al looked back, "Nii-san?"

Ed smiled, "Coming." As soon as he put one booted foot forward, the whole building shook. The sound of rushing water came from outside.

"Whoa!" Ed fell on his butt and looked up at a worried Alphonse. The building jerked to the side again, as if it were going to topple over any second. Kaori shouted from a window in her hotel room, "IT'S A TSUNAMI!"

"Dammit!" Ed hopped to his feet and clapped his hands together. He blasted a hole in the wall and jumped out of the side of the hotel, landing on one of the first floor windowsills and flying inside, "Is everyone in the lobby?!"

"Yes, but what about-" the manager yelled back.

"Kaori and Alphonse are coming down as quickly as they can!" Edward replied angrily.

_I hope._

Edward clapped his hands together again and ran outside. He pushed his hands in the water just as a four-story wave headed right for him. A blue alchemical light shone from the ground, and a barricade rose from the ground, blocking the water but shaking with the effort. He started bleeding from the nose and mouth from the effort, "AL! I NEED SOME DAMN HELP HERE!"

Alphonse, who was now downstairs, ushered Kaori towards the crowd in the lobby, then ran outside to help his brother. Al clapped his hands and pressed them to the ground beside Edward's own hands. A blue alchemical light started forming around Ed's hands, then a bigger, yellow alchemical light shone from around Al's hands, powering up Ed's alchemy. More solid dirt walls rose around the whole town of Rush Valley. Once they made sure three layers of barricades were up and holding well on their own, Ed stood up and stretched, "Well, that was-"

Suddenly, a wave of water weighing about a ton splashed over the edge of the barricades. While Al squeaked in terror and made the walls higher, the water fell onto Ed and knocked him out. Al noticed after the line around his hands disappeared, "NII-SAN!" He rushed to his side, then looked back at the people in the hotel, "HELP!!!"

Kaori, Winry, Pinako, Roy, and Armstrong all rushed out while Hawkeye helped with crowd control.

Alphonse started tearing up at the eyes, "He's…he's dead…"

Roy made a sound with his teeth, "No he's not. Not if someone does CPR…" Roy immediately back away from Ed to say he wasn't going to do mouth-to-mouth with his bratish rival, especially if he woke up.

Armstrong backed away as well and started whistling.

Winry stayed silent-if SHE did mouth-to-mouth, who knew what Alphonse would think of her afterwards?

Pinako spat at Ed's feet, "No way I'm touching that midget-brat."

Kaori was left, "Um…uh…" She gulped, then kneeled down beside Edward's chest. She sighed, then pulled Ed's shirt up so that his chest was bare. She put both hands on his chest then pushed, three times, "1…2…3…" She paused, and looked back at the others.

"Go on," Al whispered fearfully. Winry nodded encouragingly.

Kaori swallowed some saliva, then bent down and pressed her open mouth against Edward's gapping one. She steadily breathed into his mouth, then lifted her head and pushed his chest again. Then she bent down to breath into his mouth, when Ed woke up to find Kaori kissing him.

"WHAT THE H*LL?!" Ed screamed, backing away hastily. Kaori looked hurt, "You were dying, and nobody else would, so…" Ed now understood, so he let his face and tone soften, "It's…it's okay."

"He's in looooove," Winry whispered into Al's ear, and the blond snickered, then nudged Winry. The auto-mail mechanic blushed and lowered her eyes.

"Well, we might as well go back inside and repair," Roy shrugged, "There's a ceremony to be done!"

"STOP BEING DAMN SELFISH!" Spit that wasn't Edward's own dribbled from the side of his mouth.

"EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"Damn this town…" Edward scratched the back of his head. Al and Ed were on their way to the train station, and Mustang's ceremony had just ended. Edward was planning to make a hasty retreat, after having kissed a girl other than Winry.

Alphonse smiled, as if he were amused, but secretly, inside, he was worried. What was Ed running from this time???

Suddenly, Kaori ran up to them, "Let me follow you!"

"Why?" Edward snapped, now annoyed that Kaori had found them.

"I want to learn alchemy…and if I follow you, I really will! I guess…" Kaori thought for a moment, putting a finger to her lips, "Well, my father approves of it…he thinks it will be a good experience and adventure! And I want to go, anyway."

"We're on a business trip," Ed whipped around and started walking.

"Ed, if you want to play this game, bring it on," Kaori's voice was suddenly cold. She cracked her knuckles, rolled her head and shoulders around, and narrowed her eyes, "I'll follow you and chain our legs together if I have to."

"Now that's getting fan-girlish," Ed joked, then he scratched his head again, "Well, I guess…whatever. We'll need help, anyway. You okay with that, Al?"

Alphonse nodded, "Yes."

"Not because you just want to please me?"

"Yes," Alphonse wanted time alone with Ed, but Edward needed a real relationship…with the opposite gender. _If Ed wants to be the big brother, he'd better get a girlfriend_, Al thought inside his head, amused.

Kaori jumped up and down, her face showing obvious delight, "Hooray!" Then, she added, "I know a little alchemy. But I want to figure out my talents. And maybe become a hero of the people…like you guys." She had been about to single Ed out, but she felt that if she did, an awkward moment would come.

"Well, we can't go to Dublith if we can't catch a train! Let me warn you, I'm not scared of anything-" Ed started.

"I know THAT," Kaori rolled her eyes.

Ed continued, "I'm not scared of anything, I swear! But…if I had to choose between losing my other two limbs and visiting my teacher in Dublith again like we're going to do now, I'd have a lot of trouble deciding."

Kaori smiled, her eyes shining. They seemed to be blue-was that the sky in her eyes? "Well, she must be a wonderful teacher."

Ed and Al looked at each other, then the younger brother gulped and answered her, "You might want to mind your words."

~*~

"YOU CAME BACK HERE?!" a cough/shout rang out through the neighborhood. All the pigeons nearby squawked and flew off in a rush to escape the noise. They must have been thinking: _What the h*ll was that?_

It was Ed and Al's former teacher, Izumi Curtis.

"B-BUT WE HAVE SOMEONE NEW WITH US!" Al screamed, running away from a knife-covered with alchemical light-that was chasing him.

"New?" Izumi calmed down and finally noticed Kaori, standing there and watching with awe. Suddenly, Kaori's eyes shined and she spun around, "OH, YOU'RE STRONGER THAN I IMAGINED! PLEASE BE MY MASTER! PLEEEEEEASE!"

Izumi was astounded, "Uh…" She wasn't one to judge people by their looks, and didn't like to, anyway, but she wasn't sure whether this person was Amestrisian or Xingese.

"PLEEEEEEASE?!" Kaori dropped to her knees, clenched her hands together, and shook them. She continued begging until Izumi held her forehead in one of her hands, "Well…now that I have all my organs back…"

"Hurh?" Kaori didn't catch what she had said.

"Um, now that I'm not sick anymore, I guess I could have another protégée," Izumi scratched her head.

"Hooray!" Kaori jumped up and down in delight, then she stopped and looked up at her new master, "What will we learn first?"

"YOU will learn the meaning of alchemy. You have to be proven worthy first," Izumi smirked and glanced at Ed and Al. The two brothers looked and each other and gulped. They knew exactly what she meant by that.

"The ISLAND," Al whispered.

The brothers cracked up laughing. Kaori looked back and wondered what they were talking about, but Izumi's voice caught her attention, "Hey, girl."

"My name is Kaori," the black-haired teen bowed her head again.

Izumi rolled her eyes, "Yea, Kaori. How about we go now…?"

Kaori's eyes shined, "Yes, please!"

Ed and Al snickered and smirked from behind Kaori, and Izumi gave them a "you-better-not-tell-her-what's-going-to-happen" look. The brothers nodded, then smiled.

"Let's go," Ed tried to stop from giggling and laughing.

Izumi glared at Ed, "You're going with her."

"What?!"

"Shut up, you imbecile."

"HEEEEEEEYYY!"

"Hooray! Ed is coming with me, too! Hooray, hooray, hooray!!!"

Al snickered.

~*~

Ed grunted-rowing even a small boat like this was hard. He hadn't necessarily done it on his own before. But even if Kaori was annoying, he wouldn't do anything that would upset her, so he quietly rowed the boat towards the island. Sig Curtis, Izumi, and Dorochet-a human chimera Izumi brought back to life, along with his friend Martel. Roa, unfortunately, could not be brought back to life, and Izumi was grateful to escape without an injury, and without losing her life.

Dorochet looked over at Edward, "Long time no see."

"STOP SAYING THAT! YOU'RE PISSING ME OFF!" Ed screamed.

"STOP SAYING PISS!" Dorochet snapped back.

"Shut up, dogs!" Izumi snarled. Both young men shut their mouths.

Once they reached the island, Edward and Kaori stepped out and off of the boat, and Izumi took over the rowing responsibilities, "See you in a month! And no alchemy!"

"Whaaaat?" Kaori's eyes went wide, "But…but…but…but…but…but-"

"ASS. ASS. ASS. ASS-SHUT THE H*LL UP!" Ed groaned and held his head in his hands.

"Well, see you two!" Izumi cheered, "Alphonse sends his regards!"

Back at the Meat Shop, Al was having trouble deciding how to make meat out of live cows.

"Animal whisperer," Ed chuckled under his breath as the three people on the boat slowly drifted away from the island. Then he turned around and looked at Kaori, "So…what now?"

"Haven't you done this before?! Help me!" Kaori pleaded, "I'm not a stuck-up girl used to the rich life, but I'm worried!"

Ed rolled his eyes, "I had to do this as a 9-year-old. Shut yer mouth, clear your head, and THINK."

Kaori paused for a moment and did what Edward told her to do. "Well, we DO need food, and water, and shelter. Those are necessities. Oh, and also, we need to keep warm, so we can't risk our clothes to those necessities unless it's inevitable."

Edward nodded approvingly.

Kaori continued, "And…we need something to hunt with, because I don't trust the plants here."

Ed thought back to the time where he and Al ate a mushroom that gave you diarrhea, and almost cracked up laughing.

Kaori turned to Edward, "What's so funny?"

Ed smirked to himself, "N-nothing! BWAHAHAHAHA!"

Kaori did a double take at Ed, then turned back around, "Well, we need something to desalinate the water, if there are no ponds or springs we can drink from. And…shelter. We need to build something, of course."

Edward, who had finally calmed down, smiled at Kaori, "Perfect. Now, I'll follow you around and use up your supplies because I need to live, too, right?"

Kaori snapped, "No! You need to help! Just because you're the expert doesn't mean I have to work all by myself!" Then she stormed off, contradicting what she just said.

Ed's eyes widened with worry, and he reached out to her with his hand, "Wait, Kaori!" But the teenage girl was already in the trees, gone from sight.

"Dammit!"


	6. Chapter 6

**.com/watch?v=sOwCYcha5es&feature=related**

**CHAPTER SIX**

**(I will now be adding a video URL at the top for every chapter!)**

Edward leapt through bushes and over logs, calling out Kaori's name.

"KAORI! KAORI! WHERE ARE YOU, DAMMIT?!"

Ed was truly worried. Kaori may have been a bit of an annoying jackass, but a girl like her shouldn't be on an island like this alone. Even Ed and Al, who were boys-and strong ones at that-couldn't be left alone on this island at 16 and 15 years old, nevermind a stubborn girl.

"DAMN YOU, KAORI! TELL ME WHERE YOU F-"

Ed stopped in his tracks. A familiar shadow was curling around Kaori's mouth, legs, and arms, purples eyes sneering at him and the thousands of heads slowly slithering around Kaori's body, threatening to strangle her.

"K-Kaori…"

"Edo!" was what Kaori seemed to be screaming, "Edo-chan!"

Edward swore under his breath and clapped his hands. He moved his left hand to his right arm, and a blue alchemical light shone. Edward's right sleeve ripped open to reveal a long, metal sword attached to his auto-mail arm. "GET YOUR HANDS…WHATEVERS OFF OF HER!" Ed rushed forward and slashed his arm down on one of the necks. One of the small heads attached to the creature fell off and disappeared into the ground. Ed slashed at a few more, until the creature hissed and retreated into the ground. Kaori fell at Edward's feet, coughing and sputtering.

"Are you okay?" Ed bent down and held Kaori's shoulders in his hands, resting her neck and head in his lap.

When the young girl looked up at Edward's face, his skin seemed to be paler, yet darker than normal. His bright golden eyes were doubling-two, to four, to eight…and his golden, long hair was staying in the same place, yet moving around at the same time. Kaori simply gave up at trying to guess where exactly the young alchemist was, and slowly closed her eyes.

Edward took this as a greeting to death, "No! Open your eyes, Kaori!!!" When Kaori did not open her eyes, he picked up Kaori's right wrist and felt her pulse. She was still alive-just resting.

Ed sighed heavily and picked her up, cradling Kaori close to his chest. "You're smaller than I thought," Ed snorted and started walking towards his and Al's old hiding spot.

~*~

Kaori slowly opened her eyes to the sound of chirping crickets. She was all alone, except for a leaf-tent, a fire, and four small logs set in a square-shaped formation around the blazing, warm fire. She instinctively moved towards the source of warmth, sighing with happiness as her ice-cold body warmed up.

"Ah…" Kaori groaned with happiness, hugging herself to warm up. Suddenly, the short bushes and tall trees surrounding the dark clearing rustled, and Kaori noticed it was night. She hopped to her feet and got into a karate position she saw on TV once, "C-come out, whoever you are!"

A foot came out of the bushes, and Kaori shouted and lunged. She fell right on top of the person, punching feebly at their face and hands. The person clapped, and a blue alchemical light shone, revealing the person's face.

"Edward?!" Kaori yelped.

The golden-haired boy almost growled, and Kaori got off of him and said, "Um…"

"Yea, that's great. You're _such _a skilled fighter," Ed growled again and got to his feet, dusting himself off. Then he picked up the logs he had dropped, and then walked past Kaori, "Come on, before the wild foxes get you."

"Wild foxes?!" Kaori quickly scrambled after the alchemist.

Ed rolled his eyes and chuckled softly to himself. He set down the logs by the fire, then set three of the logs slowly into the flames. Then he sat down on one of the bigger logs surrounding the fire, and revealed a stick that was hidden up his left sleeve. He fashioned his right index finger into a small blade, and started sharpening one end of the stick.

Kaori sat across from Edward on the other side of the fire, and put her hands between her legs, waiting for Ed to finish. Unfortunately, Kaori hated silence, "Um, Edward…"

"Yes?" the young man sounded slightly annoyed.

Kaori paused, unsure of whether or not she should continue, but she said, "Please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

Edward was silent. All was silent, too, except for the scraping of the stick.

Kaori continued, "I really want to learn alchemy…and be as great as you at it…"

Edward froze. He didn't know exactly what Kaori meant by that, but he did NOT want Kaori to see the Gate. Even if she learned alchemy, the only things that lead people to the Gate was Gluttony's stomach and human transmutation. All he had to do was keep Kaori from seeing someone die and keep her away from any type of Gluttony. It may seem easy with a small girl like Kaori, but Ed himself was a small part of the world as well, and a little determination goes a long way.

To make a long story short, Kaori's appearance just made Edward's now-peaceful life a hell.

"Here we go again…" Ed growled under his breath.

Kaori blinked and put a hand to her ear, "What?"

"Nothing! Nothing," Edward looked up at the moon, then tossed the pointed stick at Kaori, "Here, catch."

"What's this for?" Kaori's eyes lit up, "Hunting?"

"Duh. Now go to sleep, ya damn annoying little witch."

"Hey!" Kaori shouted, but Edward was already asleep.

~*~

"Ugh, Edward!" Kaori swore, chasing a boar through the forest. Her make-shift spear was in her hand, and she aimed for the spine, then threw it. The spear hit its mark, and the boar fell, dead, at Kaori's feet, "Yes!"

Kaori picked up the cumbersome boar and hurried back to the "campsite". When she returned, she saw that Ed-or someone else-had cleaned the whole clearing, the fire was put out, and more sunlight was coming into the clearing because some of the leaves had been shaved off of the trees, "Whoa…"

"Ed?" Kaori called, "Edward? I've caught something! Something to eat!"

Edward suddenly stepped into the clearing, wearing the second set of clothes he had brought along with him-a navy-blue jacket with a long-sleeved white shirt under it. He also had on a pair of navy blue pants slightly darker than the jacket, and his feet were bare. A white bandage ran around his hairline, covering his forehead, and under his long bangs, "You what?"

"I caught a boar!" Kaori held the dead animal up for Edward to see. The golden-haired boy stepped closer to get a good look at it, "Huh…I guess you did. Well, start a fire and start cooking it."

"C-cooking it?" Kaori sputtered, dumbfounded.

"Yea! What, you think we're gonna eat raw boar and guts?!" Edward scoffed, crawling inside the tent.

Kaori Nichibotsu sighed and watched as Ed inspected the inside of the tent, fixing a few sticks here and there. She asked, "Why don't you sleep in a tent, too?"

"I'm not sleeping with a girl! And that girl is you! Even worse," Ed spat from inside the leaf-tent.

"B-but…you could build another one," Kaori defended herself hastily.

"Using too many leaves isn't good for the environment."

_Since when was he interested in the environment?!?!?! _"Well, even if you sleep in the tent with me, we'll share warmth!"

"Yea, that means I'm giving warmth to your cold body."

"Ugh, you're so annoying!" Kaori stomped her foot and threw her boar at the fire pit, "Why don't you go to hell?!"

"Been there 'bout three times. It was nice, calm, peaceful. Broke a few bones. Really nice place to stay for summer vacation," Ed replied calmly.

"YOU ANNOYING BRAT!" Kaori yelled at Edward, fire blazing in her eyes.

Unfortunately, Ed couldn't see Kaori at all, "Yea, that's great. Who's the whining brat now, anyway? You're just a useless girl, that's all. You'll never learn alchemy. Ever."

"Wh-what? Why?" Kaori whimpered.

"You'll never understand it," Edward whispered. Images of Trisha Elric-his mother-smiling flashed through his mind. A single tear rolled down his cheek, "Never. Never. You won't. Not the true meaning of alchemy."

"E-ed?" Kaori stepped forward, reaching out with a hand. Edward was now silent, his shoulders shaking. She could hear faint whimpering sounds, but she didn't know if it was Edward, the forest, or animals nearby, "Edward? What's wrong?"

Edward didn't reply. Instead, he reached up to wipe his face. Kaori quickly snatched his hand, and the golden-haired boy looked up at Kaori.

"What's wrong? Tell me," Kaori whispered. Edward nodded, and turned around, sitting with the bottoms of his feet touching, "Well…"

~*~

Once Edward was done telling his life's story to Kaori, the young girl had cried at least five times, "H-how horrible!"

Edward looked up at Kaori, "Yea. Who's the one crying now?"

"How can you NOT cry? You're so…strong," Kaori whimpered.

Edward blushed and looked up at the sky. It had been three hours, and the sun was already heading west towards the horizon, "I guess its time to hunt again. That boar was delicious."

"Th-thank you," Kaori blushed again. _I spend half a day with Edward alone, and I think he already likes me! Ugh, I wish I could act like a frickin' fan girl right now…but then Edward will hate me. Besides Alphonse, his mother, and Master Curtis, I'm probably the only one who's seen him cry…I really wish I could just hug him, and he could cry in my arms. Everything would be alright…all those years of holding back…_

"Kaori."

"Wah!" Kaori jumped in her seat, landing on her bum again, "Yes, Edward?"

"Come on. Let's hunt together," Edward waved his hand, palm facing upward-a sign for her to get to her feet and grab her spear.

Almost slipping on a piece of boar fur and skin, Kaori got her weapon and stood beside Edward. The two teens stood beside each other, nodded, and ran into the forest.

"Bet you can't beat me to the Big Oak!" Edward yelled back at her.

"Where?!"

"Exactly!" Edward laughed out loud and raced ahead of her. He was lost in the foliage before Kaori could call out to him. The teenage girl slowed to a stop and looked around the shadowy forest, unsure. Then, suddenly, she was knocked down.

"Agh!" Kaori pushed with her feet on the creature's stomach, sending it back over her head. The creature seemed to be shaped like a human, but its face was still shrouded in shadows. "Take this!" she shoved the butt of the spear into the creature's chest, and it flew backward with a loud, painful groan.

But then the creature pushed off of the tree it was flying towards. It raced back towards Kaori quicker than her eyes could follow, and grabbed her chin as it flew over her. Kaori fell on her back, and the creature landed behind her, stood up straight, and revealed a familiar golden braid…

"Edward?!" Kaori yelped. She really hoped it was. If it was a creature that looked like Edward, that would be worse than an homunculus any day!

The creature turned out to be a smiling Edward. He reached out to her with a metal hand, and Kaori gleefully took it. But, then Ed did something that surprised her. He pulled her to his chest, and looked down at her silently with loving eyes. "Ed, wha-" Kaori didn't have time to finish her sentence, because the bushes to the right of her rustled, and Edward rushed away into the bushes behind him.

"Wait up! What were you going to do?!" Kaori yelled after her companion, but then Edward stepped out of the rustling bushes, eyes wide with fear and hands clenched in his pockets, "What do you mean, 'what was I going to do'?"

"Um, uh, er…" Kaori pointed at Edward, then at the bushes in front of her, then back at herself, "What just happened…?"

"What did you see?!"

"You."


	7. Chapter 7

**.com/watch?v=QKKurDzMWIQ&feature=related**

**.com/watch?v=q5SwpFvonus&feature=related**

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

"How the hell did you see me?!" Edward screamed.

Kaori was lost in thought…

_How did Edward appear in two places at almost the same time? Maybe Edward was saying I wouldn't be a good alchemist because he didn't want me involved in that's monster's life…_

_Was Ed, the emotionless brother, protecting me?_

_Was Edward, the hero of the people, scared that I would be injured?_

_Destroyed?_

_Heartbroken?_

_He couldn't have been thinking about himself…how could this have tied in with his life? No, he's not being selfish…or is he?_

_What is he thinking? I want to know…yes!_

_I dragged myself into this damned mess…I'm sinned already, and I haven't touched one transmutation circle or anything else…_

_I'm sticking by Edward's side, no matter what._

_In love…_

_In friendship…_

_Or whatever Edward Elric the Fullmetal Alchemist regards me with, I'm his partner. I'm with him in this._

"KAORI!!!" Edward's scream of terror jolted Kaori out of her thoughts. The alchemist was holding the young girl in his hands again, and his face muscles were tightened and morphed into an expression of pure horror and worry.

Kaori's eyelids fluttered open, "Y-yes…"

"K-Kaori…" Edward said softly. He got to his knees then gently set her on the ground, "You're alright…" Ed's eyes softened, then they hardened and angered, "What happened to you?! Do you have a sickness that makes you faint every time you come in contact with an alchemist?!?!"

Kaori was silent, but she regarded Edward lovingly with her eyes. Ed took that as an "I'm okay" look, and reached up to scratch his head with his fleshy, left hand, "Well, you're not dead."

_I'm not dead, I'm alive. Living life to it's fullest…that's what alchemy is all about. Everyone has a purpose in the world, and even though each part is small, just like a clock, everyone has to comply with that system, or everything goes haywire. We're all part of a system beyond belief, sight, sound, or any other sense, but that system can sense us, and needs all of us to co-operate. And you can see it in everyday life…_

_The military and the jail work together._

_Mothers and fathers work together._

_Sport teams work together._

_Clock gears work together._

_Couples…couples work the hardest of all._

_The world's system…no, the system bigger than the universe needs us. And that is what alchemy is all about. The taboo…everything. No wonder Edward cried…and Edward needs me too. Once we get back, he'll never admit it to anyone, not even me…but we need each other…he will be my teacher, and me his supporting protégée…_

"KAORI, DAMMIT!"

"I'm sorry, Edward!" Kaori got to her knees and bowed her head, "I'm so sorry!"

"What…?" Ed looked astounded, "I just don't like it when you drift off like that…especially at night…we need to get back. I'll keep watch-"

"No, I will," Kaori vowed, her voice strong.

"You don't have the strength. You need to rest. After all that fainting you did…" Edward teased her, his eyes bright and narrowed playfully.

_I'm his protégée_, Kaori reminded herself, and she nodded, _His SUPPORTING protégée…who cares for him…_ "I will. But if you need anything, I'll be more than glad to help you with anything you need."

"Hey, I'm not your teacher or anything," Edward laughed and stood up.

Kaori stood up as well and giggled happily, _You are to me, Edo-kun._

_You are to me._

_And possibly more…_

Kaori's giggle made Edward laugh as well, "Alright."

**Author's Note: I know, how did Kaori get all that out of one statement? Well, some of the lesser of the animes that I've seen are like that, like Fruits Basket (manga). If Tohru thinks about emotions that much, she needs to be a therapist. Or she belongs in an asylum.**

**Okay, back to the story!**

~*~

"So, how was it?" Izumi asked. She stood up in the boat, while Sig, Al, and Dorochet (who were behind her) sat down and looked Kaori and Ed up and down with curiousity.

The two seemed-well, Ed in particular-to be calmer when closer to each other. To prove that fact, Edward and Kaori stood, now, an inch apart, instead of the usual one or two feet when forced to stand together.

Kaori was more muscular, and Edward stood up straighter. He seemed prouder, even though he was as egotistical as good alchemists could get. Ed had a proud smile on his face, and Kaori grinned slightly and had her hands behind her back respectively. She leaned slightly towards Edward, but she wasn't sure if even she, herself, noticed that she was doing that.

"It went well. And you're a day overdue," Edward sneered back.

"Don't sass me, shrimp," Izumi snarled back, then she studied the two teenagers as Ed's eyes darkened in a rage. He wouldn't explode in front of Izumi nor Sig, and Al dreaded the moment they got away from their teacher, "Well, I guess you did well. Kaori."

"Hai!" Kaori stood up straighter, eyes brighter than before, and she used the Japanese word for "Yes, sir"/"Yes, ma'am".

"What did you learn?"

"I learned that everything in the universe, and beyond, has a purpose. If we don't fulfill our purposes, we can cause chaos. And it is up to us to fix that chaos so we can finally settle," Kaori declared.

Izumi grinned and nodded once, "Yes!"

"Hey, you didn't give me that praise when Al and I got it!" Edward protested in annoyance.

"Yea, that's because you're fumbling, bumbling boys," Izumi scoffed, then she turned back to Kaori, "Get in the boat, you two." She spoke to both of them, but she seemed to be regarding Kaori with higher respect than Edward.

"Hey, is this because of my military badge or something?!" Edward screamed at his teacher.

"Shut up, ya damn shrimp!"

"HEY!"

"Shut up, or I'll rip your mouth off your face!"

"Well, then, there will be a bigger hole! I guess you didn't learn the human anatomy that well, did you?! Or do you not have logic in your mind, you…you…you old, damn witch!"

Being called "old" pissed off Izumi more than everything. She whipped around, and-faster than any eye could have caught-caught Edward, flipped him, and stuck his head in the ground/sand, "Shut up, dammit! Brats really piss me off, and I can't hear them in my OLD AGE. Would you mind repeating that SMART REMARK?!" Izumi stuck up her middle finger at Edward. Sig covered Alphonse's eyes quickly as Izumi stuck up her other one and yelled, "I'll stick them in your eyes, sinned-boy!"

"Stick WHAT in my eye?!"

"Come out of the damn sand and see, *******!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"

"You heard me!"

Sig sighed, "Should I leave you here?"

"NO!" Izumi dragged Ed by his butt into the small boat and shoved the paddles into his hands and out of Sig's, "Row, brat!"

"Why?!"

"Too scared? Too weak? ROW, DAMMIT!"

"DAMN _YOU_!" Edward started rowing.

"FASTER!"

Ed's paddles started throwing up more than just sprays of water. Large splashes came from the end of the paddles as the boat sped across the lake, "I'M ROWING, WITCH!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"WHY IS IT THAT EVERY TIME I SEE YOU, I HAVE A BITTER TASTE IN MY MOUTH?! HM, I WONDER?!"

"WHY IS IT THAT EVERY TIME I SEE _YOU_, MY DAMN BACK ACHES?! MAYBE IT'S YOUR DAMN ATTITUDE, DAMN BRAT!"

"STOP SAYING 'DAMN' AND 'DAMMIT'! SAY SOMETHING ELSE!"

"OKAY! SHRIMPCAKE! BEANY! PUNY LITTLE BRAT!"

"I'M NOT A BRAT!!!!"

"ARE TOO!"

"ARE NOT!"

"ARE TOO! ARE NOT!"

"ARE TOO!" Edward suddenly stopped shouting when he said this last statement. Fury bubbling in his golden eyes, he swore and shrieked, "I HATE OLD *****s LIKE YOU!"

"DID YOU JUST CALL ME A *****?!" Izumi shrieked back, "I AM NOT A DOG, FIRST OF ALL! AND SECOND, WOMEN ARE WAY BETTER THAN MEN, ANYDAY!"

"SO WHAT?! YOU'RE SICKLY! HOW UNCOOL AND WEAK IS THAT?!"

Kaori sighed and looked up at Sig and Al, and asked Sig, "Is this what happens every time they come near each other."

Sig nodded in despair, and Al covered his ears, "I shouldn't be hearing this, h-hearing…-h-h-h-h-h…this…"

And they had another 5 miles to go. And, guess what? Ed was too preoccupied swearing to row.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

"We made it back!" Kaori stretched as she yawned and whined. Alphonse stepped out after her, and his tired eyes widened when he saw Winry, "W-w-Winry!"

"Yup! It's me!" Winry laughed and walked forward, towards the group of people standing before her. Edward was slung over Sig's left shoulder, and Izumi was cradled in his right arm. Both smart mouths were fast asleep, snoring and too tired to wake up because of their "overuse of their vocal cords", as Dorochet had stated.

"What are you doing here?" Alphonse asked the teenage girl, his eyes still wide, "Are you following us or something?" "MORE LIKE STALKING!" Edward shouted in his sleep.

"And you say he's your brother?" Winry teased in Al's ear, then she said, louder this time, "I guess you could say that. I just wanted to check up on you two. And we rented a summer house here! Isn't that great?"

"Summer…house?" Sig repeated slowly. He almost dropped Ed, but kept a tight hold on his loving wife.

"Yea! Well, it's GRANDMA PINAKO'S summer house. I'm going to live there now!" Winry smiled, "And maybe…Edward and Alphonse can live here, too! Don't you guys have enough money to buy a house by now? You have enough to buy me spanners…"

_That's the exact reason why we're broke!!! _The polite Alphonse didn't dare say that out loud, but he felt like exploding into madness right now. How could Winry be so naïve?! Or, had she already realized that…?

"Anyway, we might rebuild a house in Resembool, I guess…" Alphonse was about to continue, but he saw the pleading look on Winry's face.

The young girl exploded, "I'M RICH!"

"Wha?" Dorochet furrowed his brow. Kaori scratched her head, "What's going on? I-I mean, what do you mean?"

"We got really rich, and I live in Rush Valley now. But I have a house there, and here, and Grandma Pinako already has a house in Resembool, which will go to me when…and I thought about getting an apartment in Lior…"

"How?" Kaori's eyes shined. If Winry, a small town girl, could afford three houses, what could she, Kaori, do?!

"Well, since I make the 'best auto-mail in the world'," Winry used Edward's favorite phrase when complimenting and recommending her work to others, "Lots of people came flocking to my shop. And the other shopkeepers in Rush Valley don't mind, either! They come to their shops for antiques, and for maintenance! But if they ever need a whole limb, they usually come to me! Unless they're regulars in another shop, or…I don't know, they get tired of my auto-mail? And I don't make auto-mail like Edward's for them. Edward's is…is _special_…Oh! I made apple pie for all of you!"

Alphonse laughed at how Winry went on and on, and didn't catch the love in Winry's voice when she talked about Ed's brand of auto-mail that he "wore". Winry had hoped that he didn't, and sighed when she saw Al giggling at her rant. The dirty blond shook his head, "Just after Mrs. Sead baked us a whole load?"

"Yup! It's the pie Ms. Gracia taught me to make, though!" Winry smiled happily and warmly, spinning in circles and holding her hands to show her glee.

"Grr…" Edward made a gurgling sound as he roused.

"Oh, Ed's waking up," Sig spoke.

"Let's get him back to the shop…" Dorochet held his hands together and sniffed the air happily, closing his eyes. He almost barked and slurred, "_I can almost taste the beef noooowwww..._"

Kaori laughed and said, "Well, let's go back, then! Come on, Al, Dorochet, Mr. Sig, Winry!"

The others nodded and followed the excited Kaori and the shopkeeper Sig as they all hurried back.

~*~

**Author's Note: This will be a part of sleep-rants, where the "teens" listen to each other sleep-talk. Heh-heh. Suspicions, arise! :)**

**And I will now be making a FanFic about my manga that I talked about in my FMA Truth or Dare FanFic! I'll tell you about it and give you the link in either this or the next few chapters. :)**

"_Oh. My. God…_" Edward slurred in his sleep, hugging himself. He was in his black clothes again, his huge, brown belt tightly hugging his waist. That seemed to be the only thing Kaori noticed as she stared at him.

Alphonse peeked through the cracked door from right above her, and Winry was below her. The blond girl felt a little uncomfortable-since Kaori was shorter than her, the black-haired teen was squishing her and making her go down on her knees, but not quite. "Let's switch!" Winry hissed at her, and the shorter girl complied.

"It's…so good…" Ed smiled to himself-a happy, contented smile. One of pure happiness. Kaori hoped he was talking about her.

"Mmm…" Edward giggled, and Kaori and Alphonse almost burst out laughing. "He sounds like a girl!" Alphonse squeaked, trying to hold his amusement in.

"Ahh…"

The three friends waited for Ed's next set of words.

"_Alphonse_…" Ed smiled as if he were enjoying some kind of action. He rolled onto his side and dug his head into the seat cushion, "_Alphonse_…"

"WHAAAAAA?!" Alphonse fell backward onto his back, then got to his knees, "I HOPE ALL THAT ELRICEST TEASING ROY TOLD ED ABOUT ISN'T GETTING INTO HIS MIND!!!"

"Eh…?" this outburst woke Edward up, and he sat upright immediately, "What happened?!"

"Nothing!" Alphonse called from around the corner.

"Oh…I was having a _wonderful_…no, that's the wrong word to use…" Edward narrowed his eyes peacefully and hugged himself, "I was having a…a…_vivid_…dream…about Alphonse-*cough*! Gah, dust…"

"What?" Winry hoped it wasn't really about Alphonse.

"About Alphonse's good cooking! He made a quiche for me once…_so good_…"

"Enough to hug yourself?" Kaori snorted with disbelief.

"Oh, yes!" Edward laughed, then his expression hardened, "I was hugging myself." It wasn't a question-it was more of a statement.

"Yes," Winry nodded, and Alphonse glared at him.

Edward realized what must have happened, and he jumped up to defend himself, "I AM NOT YAOI!" He pointed an accusing finger at his friends. The three laughed, Alphonse's laugh a nervous one, and Kaori's a forceful, all-out laugh. Edward sighed, his arms limp in front of him. He closed his eyes, and you could almost see the sweatdrop on his forehead, "Ugh. Let's eat, okay?"

"Quiche! And tomato soup!" Izumi called cheerfully from the kitchen.

"QUICHE?!" Alphonse fell on his back with horrid surprise.

"SOUP?!" Edward's eyes brightened.

"What's wrong?" Izumi poked her head through the cracked door, her face showing 100%, true innocence, "Something happened?"

Winry, Alphonse, Kaori, and Ed all almost sweatdropped as they hung their heads in despair, "_Nevermind_…"

~*~

After dinner, Kaori and Winry got ready for bed and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Edward and Alphonse passed Winry and Kaori's bedroom, and Al suddenly stopped, staring at the lamp on the desk. A cross with a winged serpent wearing a crown was imprinted on the lamp. Ed thought he was staring at Winry, and he patted Al's shoulder, "I'm going to bed. You check on the girls, 'kay? Use alchemy to make the room safe."

"I know, I know…" Al groaned. Whenever Winry or someone else stayed with them, they had to villain-proof the room as much as possible. Al dug a diamond out of his pock that he and Ed had dug up in Rush Valley's mountains, and places it near the wall. He clapped and placed his fingertips on the jewel, and a soft blue light shone.

The hardest stone in the world spread over the walls and across the floor and ceiling. "That should harden it a little bit," Al nodded to himself. Then, he chuckled, "And the house'll be worth more, too!" He laughed, then glanced at Winry out of the side of his eye. She was sweating and clutching the pillow. Her eyebrow was furrowed with confusion.

Al went over to her and sat by her head, stroking her head and running his fingers through her light blond hair. Al was about to get up and join his brother in their own bedroom-and hopefully Edward was still awake, so that they could study alchemy a bit more-but then Winry suddenly grabbed onto Al's wrist and rested her head on it.

Al would have tugged his hand away, but changed his mind when Winry smiled softly in her sleep. The hand that Winry held on to turned over and stroked her cheek, and Al used his other hand to rub her back and massage her shoulders. He half-smiled lovingly, then sighed.

Edward was watching from the hallway, happy that Winry and Alphonse were growing closer, even when one of them didn't know it. "It'll be little brother's little secret," Ed laughed softly so that Al couldn't hear him.

Back in the girls' room, Winry finally let go of Al's hand, but not without unconsciously kissing it first. Al kissed Winry's forehead, and then stood up. He suddenly had a sudden urge to hold her and kiss her, but knowing that Winry would wake up and slap him, he kissed her right cheek and left the room.

Alphonse found his older brother in their room, pen in his mouth, and an alchemic equation in his hands. He was reading it by a strong, yellow light coming from a lamp on the desk beside him. "Hi," Al announced his presence.

Ed looked up and smiled, "Come over here. I…guess…I…"

"Just admit you need help!" Al tackled Edward and pinned him down on the bed.

Ed smirked and kicked back up at him with his knee, but the younger swiftly dodged it with ease.

Edward sat back up, still smirking, and showed Alphonse the calculus he was tackling, "See, I don't get what 'e' squared is…"

"Look here. 'E' equals 12.2314 times pi because of this 2.3 here…" Alphonse pointed to an equation farther up the page.

Edward checked what Al was saying, then wrote down "12.2314 * pi = e" where there was a blank spot on the right margin of the page, "Okay, and I don't understand…yea, there's 'f'. What's 'f'?"

"THAT'S EASY!" Al exploded with anger.

Ed gulped and frowned, leaning back, _Oh no! Did I anger him?!_

Alphonse laughed, "Sorry. I was a bit too loud there, wasn't I?"

"You big jerk!" Edward told him playfully, slapping the side of his head. Alphonse ducked away and laughed.

Izumi was watching from the hallway, and even Sig paused as he passed.

"Just like when they were 9," Izumi sighed happily. Sig kissed the top of his wife's head lovingly, holding her shoulders, then he continued on into the kitchen.

"Hey, Dorochet," Sig tossed the chimera a packet of bacon.

"Oh, joy! Quiche and soup and bacon all in one night! Thanks, Sig!" Dorochet smiled up at Sig. The chimera wouldn't normally be so open and loving to another person, but Sig-who knew almost no alchemy compared to a junior alchemist-even helped with his resurrection. Dorochet was grateful, after what the military had done to him. What the _homunculus _did to him. The only homunculus he considered good was Greed, and even he was considered a villain to "outsiders".

"No problem, my furry friend."

Dorochet raised his eyebrow and laughed.

~*~

Kaori, Edward, Alphonse, and Winry all got on a train to visit the people in Lior. Edward and Alphonse had almost forgotten their task when they happened to meet a colleague at the station. Brigadier General Mustang had spotted them from a nearby McDonalds®.

"Hello, friends!" Roy waved and ran up to the four teens.

"Speak of the devil," Edward muttered, looking away.

"I know you are, but what am I?"

Alphonse gasped and leapt forward to keep Ed from mauling the Fire Alchemist. Roy laughed in triumph, which even pissed off Alphonse a little, "So, what are you guys here for?"

"We're visiting Lior!" Winry smiled and said the words with pep.

"Ah, the little cutie," Roy rubbed his cleanly shaven chin and _meow_ed.

"Roy…" Ed stuck up his middle finger at Roy, and Al made no move to shove his hand down. The younger brother spoke up, "Don't make me snap you in half like a matchstick…"

Roy sneered, "Don't…call…me…a…matchstick…"

Ed broke free of his brother, "Okay. WET matchstick."

This time, Riza Hawkeye-Roy's secretary-had to hold Roy by the belt to keep him from mauling the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Well, we ought to go. The train's about to leave," Edward smirked and led his friends away from his higher-up.

Kaori frowned, "How can you work with jerks like that?"

Ed smiled back at her, "I don't. Anyway, the Lieutenant is his babysitter!"

Now, on the train, Kaori and Edward sat across from each other, because Alphonse and Winry had wanted to play a card game named Speed, and it included shouting.

Kaori had fallen asleep five minutes after the train left the station, so they had moved to another row of seats.

The black-haired girl suddenly tumbled forward, ending up sitting next to Edward and laying her head in Ed's lap.

"Um…" Ed had an awkward pause between him and nothing. Then, he stroked Kaori's head. The girl sighed in her sleep lovingly, as if she were enjoying it.

Edward quickly pulled back, afraid that he had roused her from sleep. But Kaori was still asleep, so he continued to rub her head and arms. Until Al had shouted, "I HAVE TO GO PEE-PEE!" instead of "SPEED!"

Kaori squealed and jumped up, bumping lips with Edward. The State Alchemist fell backward in surprise, "Whoa!"

Alphonse laughed from behind them, and Edward made a lunge for his brother, making sure no one else was in their car.

"WAHHHH!"

All Kaori remembered was waking up, and from her point of view, Edward was holding her and leaning down to kiss her.

~*~

After shopping for gifts in Lior:

Spanners for Winry.

Metal bars for Alphonse to later assemble.

An IPod® for Edward, which he now loaded all of the Fullmetal Alchemist songs and rock songs he could find.

And a Kindle® for Kaori. (Hey, they both have "K"s!)

The teens were on a train back to Dublith. Kaori and Edward were buying songs off of the computer and listening to them, while Alphonse and Winry were behind them.

Winry was now dosing off, when she asked him, "What do you look for in a woman?"

Alphonse, was caught off guard by the question-because you just do not ask these kind of questions out of the blue! "Well…"

"I mean, if you had a girlfriend, how would she compare to me?" Winry continued, leaning against the side of Al's chest.

The younger brother felt uncomfortable now, his heart beat rising quickly, even though if he had to choose, he'd spend the rest of his life with Winry, "I…I'm not trying to please you!"

Winry waited for Al to continue.

"Well…she'd be _exactly _like you…you're, er, perfect…" Alphonse scratched his head, then shook his head, "I don't know how to state this in a friendly way…"

"You don't have to, then."

Alphonse looked down at his childhood friend in surprise. Winry was looking up at him alluringly, her arms wrapped around Al's hips. The young man blushed and looked away.

"Alphonse, look at me."

Al looked over the back of his seat. Kaori and Edward were too absorbed in their music, and the volume on the computer was turned up almost to a maximum level. Al sat back down and did as Winry instructed.

Winry sat up, her face now an inch from Alphonse's, "Do you love me?"

Al's heart was jerking around in his chest before, but now he couldn't even feel it anymore. He wanted to run away, and get far away from Winry. He didn't want to admit his love. He was afraid. Was she testing him? Did she want to tease him about his crush on her?

_I love you, Winry! Why can't I say those words…_

_Four simple words…I could tell you a whole speech…_

_I could run away…_

_I could commit suicide…_

_I could move away from you and hate you…or pretend to, anyway…_

_How come I can't tell you what I need to hear, what I want you to need to hear?_

_Why, as the responsible brother, is it so hard to tell the truth right now?_

_Why is it that I want to lie?_

_Do I want to protect you? Run away?_

_That won't solve anything. Only those four words will._

_But why can't I say them?_

"Alphonse?" Winry's right hand was now on his chest, and she looked up at him pleadingly.

_No, it's easier for me. Winry loves me too. I'm the man, here. I'm the strong one, here! She's waiting for me. I can do this! I can do this…_

"I love you, Winry."

Winry smiled, "Me, too. I love you, Alphonse Elric."

Alphonse put his hand on Winry's back, and pulled her up to his height. He leaned in towards her and pressed his lips against hers. Winry wrapped her arms around Alphonse's neck and kissed him harder.

Al broke away from Winry's mouth and kissed her hot face, while murmuring, again and again, the words, "I love you, I love you…"

Winry kissed his neck and stroked Alphonse's hair, "I love you…"

_I love you, Winry Rockbell. Nothing will ever change that._


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.**

**And sorry, but this is going to be a really sucky chapter. But its foreshadowing, also…whatevah. Just read it.**

_~Two month time span…~_

Over the two months it had been since their train ride back from Lior, Kaori had learned almost as much as Edward had, and was good enough to block at least three of Edward's attacks when sparring. Ed was a little jealous of her progress, but he blamed it on Izumi.

"_You just held back on me because you thought I wasn't smart!"_

"_Nobody said you WERE smart, pipsqueak!"_

"_WHAT?!"_

So now, Kaori was walking through the streets, holding a pink, red, and black umbrella over her head. _What to buy, what to buy… _Kaori thought, then she shook her head, _This Valentine's madness is driving me crazy!!!_

"AHHHHYEEEEEEE!"

"Whoa!" Kaori almost jumped out of her socks, and she looked into an alley to her left. A thin girl with tanned skin and burgundy eyes, dressed in a tan cloak, was crouching against the cobblestone wall of the alley between an apartment and a deli.

The person standing over her was pale, and long strands of black hair hung from their face. She couldn't see the person's body at all, but she assumed they were smiling evilly, like they had found the perfect piece of prey.

Glad that she had drawn Edward's trademark transmutation circle on both of her palms that morning, Kaori cried out angrily and clapped her hands. She ran at the looming figure and pressed her palms to their chest as they whipped around, her wrists facing each other vertically.

Just before everything became white, she studied the face of the person. It was a man-around 17 or so? He had purple slits for eyes, and was dressed horribly in black clothes. His hair was shaped like a palm tree's, and wasn't black. It was rather dark green-ish.

Suddenly, something flashed, and she felt a sharp pain in her solar plexus. She couldn't see, but she sensed that the girl crouching down disappeared into thin air somehow, and the palm tree man snarled happily and said, "Those fake bodies ALWAYS drag in the helpless alchemist. Heh, heh, heh…"

~*~

"Edward!"

Ed looked around to see Alphonse rushing towards him, "What's up?"

"I saw a big alchemic flash, then I ran over and I saw traces of burns on the alley, and Kaori's…er…" Alphonse thought for a bit.

"SHE'S NOWHERE!"

"What?!" Ed's pupils became raging slits, "I bet Envy did it!"

"Can we go to their headquarters again?"

"Sure, WHATEVER," Edward sighed, "That's what I was going to say…"

~*~

Kaori, now muffled by a thick, cotton cloth, was being carried by Envy through a corridor that looked like it belonged to King Arthur. Since Envy wasn't that bad looking, Kaori didn't mind being in his arms, close to his chest, but ever since she got alchemic powers, she could suddenly sense good and bad souls.

Envy didn't have a soul at all.

"I'd give her a kiss if I were you," a male voice spoke. Another soulless body!

"Shut up, Wrath," Envy snarled.

Kaori hadn't known her captor's name until this sentence, "Envy, you can be so mean sometimes!"

"Go cry to your mommy, punk."

"I will-PUNK?!"

"Don't sound so happy yet, brat."

"I'm a punk! Hooray!"

"GRAHHH!" Envy lashed out with his leg, and Kaori heard something go _WHUMP!_

"Ah!" Kaori called out. She was afraid she was next.

"Oh, so the girlie's awake, is she?" Envy looked down at her with a smirk, and got a wistful look in his eyes. Then, it turned back to his purple-red glare, an envious glare, "Insult…Veil…"

**Author's Note: In my other story, ****The Rock-Life Alchemist****, there's a homunculus named Insult, and a girl named Veil (a reincarnation of Envy's in it!). Envy and Insult both like Veil, and vice versa, but Insult ends up winning Veil's heart. The old Envy and the new Envy (MY Envy, kind of) are actually Envy and his lost soul. The homunculi in FMA have lost souls in my other story (R-LA), and they either become a "reincarnation" or go into the body of a newborn baby and shove out the baby's original soul. Confusing, huh? Just wait until I load more chapters…which is probably, like, never… *sigh* I'm such a procrastinator…and I write a lot… lol**

"Who?" Kaori cocked her head to the side.

"DAMN YOU!" Envy threw her to the ground, then planted a foot on her ribs. Kaori cried out in pain.

"Yea, you're a human sacrifice for MY plan…Dante's dead. It was so easy to kill her…" Envy snarled happily, "I'm going to get a soul…and become an immortal human!" Envy threw his head back, "MWAHAHHAHAHA!"

"Are you a mad scientist?"

"What, girlie?" Envy glared down at her.

"Only mad scientists go 'MWAHAHHAHAHA'," Kaori pointed out.

"SHUT UP!" Envy snarled, kicking her ribs. He held back in order not to kill her, but Kaori still rolled over, holding her ribs. Tears streaked like race cars from her eyes. Or, more likely, her tear ducts.

All she knew that if Edward didn't save her soon, she'd die a painful death.

~*~

"Envy!" Edward growled, rushing through the corridor. Envy and Kaori had moved into the large room at the end of the hall-not that the brothers knew that. But Edward had a good idea where Envy had taken Kaori.

"ENVY!" Ed broke through the steel doors and flew at Envy. He tackled him to the ground and held up his auto-mail fist, "WHERE IS SHE?"

"Who?" Envy slurred evilly.

"DAMMIT!" Edward punched Envy and knocked out his tooth. But the white, sharp pearl disappeared and reappeared in Envy's smiling mouth, "TELL ME WHERE SHE IS, BASTARD!" Ed raised his fist again.

"On the wall. Hanging by chains."

"Why are you telling me so easily?"

"I sowed bombs into my underwear-I mean, the walls," a voice whispered.

"Underwear?" Ed was now confused. Envy wore underwear?

"WRATH!"

Wrath, who had whispered "underwear" into Envy's ear, giggled and ran over to Kaori. He winked at Ed, then huffed, "She's going to die. I'll kill her!"

"No! I get to kill her!" Envy snarled, whipping around as much as he could.

Edward growled in rage and turned his auto-mail into a sword. He struck Envy's face multiple times, until he could hardly recognize it, even when his brain told him it was Envy. Then, he smiled slightly at Wrath, then scowled and cut the chains so that Kaori fell from the wall.

"Oof-ahhhhh!" Kaori banged against the wall, then fell. She was a good 20 feet in the air.  
She closed her eyes, prepared to die as she came in contact with the cold, stone ground. But, instead, she felt something warm wrapped around her.

Looking up, she saw that Edward had caught her. His eyes were shining with triumph, but he also wanted to talk to her. He could see her eyes swirled with questions.

"How'd you get here so fast?"

Ed, surprised this was the question she picked, dropped her, "Wah! Er, well, Alphonse and I know the way here, so-"

"Alphonse?"

"Where's Al?" Wrath looked up, repeating Kaori's question.

"H-here…" Alphonse suddenly ran into the room, panting. He held up a hand to signal that he was okay.

"Let's go back," Edward blinked, then picked Kaori up again.

Tired from her way here, Kaori immediately fell asleep in the alchemist's arms.

**Author's Note: Sorry I didn't write how Ed and Al got there, and didn't make this part longer! I might have to get off the computer-or laptop-pretty soon, and I just didn't have the heart. Sorry!**

~*~

"Do you want to come with us?"

"What?" Kaori looked up from her strawberry-orange-mango smoothie. She and Edward were sitting outside of a café in Dublith. Alphonse had come, too, but he had to go to the can.

**Author's Note: Heh heh, can… :)**

"Do you want to come with us to the Gate Caves?" Edward asked again, chewing on the straw in his mouth. It was long, white, with two red stripes on each side. The classic.

"Sure!" Kaori's eyes brightened. She never expected to go to the Gate Caves. Then, she drew a blank, "Where?"

Edward sighed, "Hopeless."

"What?"

Edward ignored her and continued, "Al and I are on a military mission. We're going to investigate the Gate Caves. A homunculus has been sighted there, and some really shady characters that won't be easy to beat as well."

"I'm up for it!" Kaori waved her hand in the air cheerfully and smiled a toothy grin.

Edward blushed and shoved her hand down, "Shhh! You're attracting attention!"

Sure enough, people were looking over at them. Alphonse just happened to sit down at that moment and glare at their "audience", and the townsfolk quickly went back to their own matters and business. "Whatcha telling Kaori?"

"About our mission. We're leaving tomorrow," Edward announced softly so that no one else would hear.

"Oh," Alphonse sat back and put the bottom of his boots on the edge of the glass, plastic-rimmed table, "That's okay, then. She's up for it, am I right?"

"Yeah!-I mean, yes," Kaori blushed as a middle-aged man with glasses and a newspaper glared at her, then dusted his gray suit off as if he were annoyed.

"Let's go back to Izumi's house. Maybe Winry's got something to tell us," Edward thought.

"How'd you know that?" Alphonse narrowed his eyes.

"Well…I guess I can just…sense it…" Edward's "antenna" wiggled a few times as he slightly shook his head.

Alphonse smacked his forehead and groaned. Kaori laughed, "Elric Telepathy, right?"

"Right!"

"I'M NOT A SUIT OF ARMOR ANYMORE!"

"SHUT UP!"

~*~

"ED!"

"GAH!" Ed jumped and stared wide-eyed as Winry ran towards him, arms out in front of her. He cringed, getting ready for a bear hug, but instead, Winry stopped right in front of him and put his arms down, "Guess what, Ed?"

"_What_?"

"…" Winry put a finger to her lips as she thought about something. Then she shrugged, "I don't know, actually."

"Then why the hell did you call my name?!" Edward glared at the blonde.

Winry shrugged apologetically, "Well…I forgot. Sorry, Edo-chan."

"MY NAME ISN'T EDO!"

**Author's Note: Just a little insight on how Winry annoys the hell out of our Edward. :)**

~*~

Edward laid on "his" bed in the guest room, staring at the ceiling.

"Why did I invite Kaori again…? Ah. I remember now."

He had been thinking things over for some time, and now he couldn't remember. And plus, his brain hurt from thinking. So now he was speaking to himself out loud.

"It was because…she's important to the Truth. I can sense it. Elric Telepathy, right?" Ed laughed and flicked the strand of hair everyone called an antenna. It bobbed around for a while, then finally settled on his forehead.

Sighing, Edward continued, "And…the homunculi know this. But then…who was that Wrath? I thought Wrath was the Furher…"

Ed groaned and sat up quickly, causing himself a headache, "Dammit…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. You know what. FMA. Darn, now I said it. Anyway, on with Chapter 10!**

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Sorry, I ain't a kid," Roy shrugged, then smiled deviously, "You have to go on a training mission like everyone else before the real thing, squirt."

"I AM NOT A SQUIRT!" Edward snarled at his higher-up, "And plus, I survived on my own on an island! That should count!"

"On your own?! I helped! That was MY mission, anyway!" Kaori sneered. She hated it when Ed-the most handsome man in the world-was stuck up and a know-it-all.

Roy ignored her, "That wasn't under military surveillance."

Edward crossed his arms, "Fine. Where to?"

Roy, surprised that he agreed so early in the argument, stuttered his words, "W-well, we found a homunculus wannabe running around Central. Think you can catch her?"

"All of the OC's are girls these days," Edward muttered, putting his fleshed palm up to his forehead.

"What?"

"Nothing. We're on it," Ed saluted, then made a goofy face at the Brigadier General. Then he ran out of the office before Roy could burn him to a crisp.

~*~

"Well, hello, Fullmetal Pipsqueak."

Ed gritted his teeth. He had heard that somewhere before…he just couldn't remember. _Was it that bastard Wrath? Wait, which Wrath? Or was that Envy's twin brother? Aw, dammit, whatever! I just gotta arrest this freak!_

"Hello yourself," Alphonse sneered. He had his hands on his hips, and he was regarding the black-clothed girl with a nasty smirk that would often be found on a bloody Fullmetal's face.

They were standing in the entrance to an alleyway, similar to the one Scar and Edward once fought in. Perhaps it was the same one. The wannabe homunculus was balanced on a silver pipe running along the top of the alley, wearing a sly smile. Black linen and silk draped from her body, and her hair-similar to Kaori's, only with no ponytail-sat messily upon her head.

"E told me much about _you_," she slurred.

Edward twitched and glared at her. He clapped and transformed his right arm into a blade.

Alphonse glanced a warning at his older brother, then looked back at the black-clothed girl.

"I'm Nikumu," the girl smiled, showing off a row of white, sharp teeth. It reminded Kaori of a cat's mouth.

**Author's Note: If you type in "hate" on Google Translate, the Romanization "nikumu" pops up. That's where I got her name.**

"Kaori," Kaori sneered, stepping forward bravely. Edward and Alphonse looked at her, astonished.

Nikumu growled and frowned. She leapt off the pipe quicker than Kaori could follow, and she sped towards the ground and Kaori, yowling angrily.

Kaori pinched her face up and pulled three daggers out of the side of her pants. She held the daggers' handles in between her fingers, the sharp ends pointed at Nikumu's face.

The middle dagger sunk itself in between Nikumu's eyes, going right through the bridge of the cat-like girl's nose.

Edward smiled and rushed forward, slicing off Nikumu's leg.

The girl yowled with pain, dropping down to the cement sidewalk. Kaori pulled the dagger out of Nikumu's face and smirked. She planted her right foot on the black-clothed girl's back, "Well, well, well, who's smirking now?"

Nikumu growled, "You won't get away with this." Suddenly, she lurched up, throwing Kaori to the ground. In the same instant, Nikumu flipped backwards, landed so lightly on the alleyway floor you couldn't hear her landing, then rushed forward like a bullet.

Alphonse yelled and stepped in front of his brother and Kaori, holding up a hefty sword almost as tall as he was. He blocked Nikumu's ramming attack, only she wasn't planning to ram Edward and Kaori into the path of a car.

Three spikes that could have penetrated diamonds and steel stuck out of Nikumu's forehead and went through the sword.

"Thanks, Alphonse," Edward smiled, when he suddenly froze, "Her leg-she has two legs."

The leg that Edward had severed was now connected to Nikumu's thigh again.

"I didn't sense any alchemy going on during our fight," Ed frowned worriedly.

Alphonse's brow furrowed with frustration, "Me neither."

"I didn't see any flashing lights, as well," Kaori pointed out impatiently.

While Nikumu was struggling to penetrate Al's sword altogether, Ed turned around to face Kaori, "We don't mean we didn't see anything. Maybe you don't know as much as we do what alchemy 'feels' like, but you can just feel this sudden energy coming from the Earth or _somewhere_ when alchemy is performed. The closer the performance and the bigger the transmutation, the more an alchemist can sense it."

Alphonse smirked over his shoulder, "We aren't exactly tested on this when we apply for State Alchemist-hood, but it's a good sense to have. You could call it a sixth-sense, alchemy in itself."

Kaori blinked and stood there with wonder, a finger at the edge of her lips. Her eyes were wide. _A sixth sense…_

"RAH!" Nikumu suddenly broke through Al's sword. The steel clattered to the ground in pieces, and Al and Ed dodged out of Nikumu's way.

"WATCH OUT!" Alphonse called out. Edward eyes widened as Nikumu headed straight for Kaori in her rage.

"They're MINE!" Nikumu growled, the spikes on her forehead becoming longer.

Kaori's eyes widened. _I'm going to die! I'm sorry, Ed, Al-_

"OOF!"

She was suddenly shoved out of the way. She saw red and black colors flying in front of her, then white clouds and the blue sky, and a stray blond hair drifted down and landed on her collarbone. She blinked.

The hair was suddenly replaced by blood.

She gasped and looked up once the dizziness escaped her. Nikumu's spikes were embedded in Edward's chest. Nikumu, now 3 feet away from the Fullmetal Alchemist, stood crossing her arms and smirking evilly. Alphonse stood there, shocked, looking ready to cry.

"EDDDDWAAAARRRDDD!"

The Fullmetal Alchemist fell to the ground.

**Author's Note: Sorry it's a bit short. I just thought this was a good spot to stop at. Hehheh, just have to wait until next time!**

**CLICK THE REVIEW BUTTON OR THE ELRIC BROTHERS WILL TACKLE GLOMP YOU! If you don't know what glomping is, well, it's a cross between a suffocating hug and a friendly bite.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: And the long-awaited (not really) 11****th**** chapter is here! Sorry I haven't been putting chapter number(s) up.**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

"E-edward…?"

"Nghh…" Edward blinked drowsily. The room smelled like something familiar, but old. But what?

He sat up and held his forehead in his auto-mail hand, "What happened…?"

"I-I thought you were dead…" a girl's voice sobbed. It was filled with hope and tears. She sounded like she'd been crying for days on end.

"Eh?" Ed looked at where he thought the voice was coming from. His vision cleared now, he saw that the room was white. Immediately, he growled to himself.

_Hospitals._

He, again, had the baby blue clothes on he had when he had returned from his visit to Laboratory 5. A tube was connected to his arm, and a breathing tube up his nose. He breathed deeply, then sighed carefully. Fresh air. Not with the tang of blood. His wounds were closed.

_Good._

"Wait, who's there?" Edward suddenly remembered the sobbing voice.

"It's me, Kaori! Oh, sorry, I should talk to you face to face. They just said that I should come in, in case I had a disease that could infect your wounds. But how silly is that…" Kaori laughed to herself in relief.

_Same old Kaori. Good._

The door suddenly opened, and Kaori peeked around the corner.

"Don't be shy, come on," Edward growled impatiently.

Kaori smiled, and stepped into the room. She was wearing a white button-up shirt with long sleeves and baby blue vertical stripes. Her pants were dark blue jeans, and she also wore black leather boots that went a little more than halfway up her shins.

"You really ARE okay!" Kaori smiled, her eyes shining brightly. She rushed forward, as if to hug Edward, but thought twice and stopped at the edge of his bed, putting her hands behind her back.

"Yea, sure. I'm hard to kill. Why are you here?"

"Well, I wanted to make sure you were okay," Kaori sounded hurt at his shrill words.

Taking care to soften his voice just the littlest bit, he asked, "Why are you crying?" He ever so _wanted_ to reach up and stroke Kaori's face, but held himself back.

"B-because I thought you were dead."

"If you wanted to be with me, then just wait until you die. What's one less person on the Earth, anyway?" _I'm going too far. Ed, calm down_, Edward growled to himself.

"B-but, you won't be here. To save lives. To protect Alphonse. And all your friends will be sad that you left them. You have to stay alive," Kaori frowned. Didn't he get this concept? He must, he must, or he won't care about his life! She wanted to stay by his side for the rest of her life. Why couldn't she have been born in Resembool?

Edward sighed and looked away. It was silent for a long time. Then, he looked back at her, "I'm sorry we failed. We can't go on the mission."

"Yes you can, Fullmetal."

"Eh?!" Kaori started, jumping up about a half foot into the air. Brigadier General Mustang walked into the room, smiling, "I said '_can_'. If you catch that wannabe."

"Edward-senpai will get killed!" Kaori frowned, clenching her fists and bringing them up to her chin defiantly.

"Sen…pai?" Edward's eyebrow twitched maniacally.

Roy laughed, "It seems this girl has taken a liking to you."

"No, or he would be Edward-sama," Kaori sniffed impatiently.

"More like a love for the language…" Edward snorted under his breath.

Kaori simply ignored him, or seemed not to hear him, "So we can try again? I'll get Alphonse-senpai right away!"

**Author's Note: Yes, I will be using what's called "honorifics" in most dialect in my Fan Fiction. If you're wondering what honorifics are, look on my profile!**

"No!" Edward reached out to Kaori's back, then clutched his side in pain, "Ngh…"

Kaori whipped around, "Oh! I should tell you. We drove Nikumu-teme away, but she seemed like she wanted you dead for good. She k-kept sl-slashing a-at you…you…" Tears welled up in her eyes.

Edward was about to comfort her, but he saw Roy quickly smirk. Then the smile was gone, as if he were frozen like a statue the whole time. "Stop crying," Edward growled, "If you're going to call me 'senpai'…"

Kaori looked up, smiling, "Th-thank you."

Ed crossed his arms and looked out of the window, "Well, then, I have to get out of this damned place fast. I can't just _stay_ here and let them give me frickin' _milk_…"

Kaori's eyes brightened, "Edward-senpai!"

"What?"

Kaori frowned, "Huh?"

"Don't call my name if you have nothing to say to me!"

Kaori looked taken aback, "I-I'm sorry, Edward-senpai."

"What's with the 'senpai' crap, anyway?!"

Roy smiled at the couple, then slowly backed out of the room, walking away. _If only he were like me…he wouldn't HAVE girl problems_, Roy sighed sadly, thinking about his own [bad] luck with girls.

~*~

"No."

"Why not? There's girls," Roy frowned.

"Ain't no way in _hell _I'm going to a _damn_ club," Edward growled, crossing his arms defiantly.

_I get out of the hospital, come to do some damn work for this bastard so he can get some damn rest, and he-GRAH, I'M SO PISSED! You don't ask wounded people to go to clubs!_

"It's called Hell's Cradle."

"Oh, _joy_. Let's all take part in the happy, joyful festivities that will be all bright and happy. Come to the Hell's Cradle today!" Edward waved his hands in the air. It looked like he was impersonating a drunk moose.

"I'm not so sure we should go…Nii-san," Alphonse frowned at his brother, "I mean…we've been through hell. No good in going to a club that pretends to be it. It's just sickening to my stomach…"

Edward looked at his brother, getting angrier by the second. "C-calm down," Edward patted his younger brother's shoulder. Not one soul wanted to see Alphonse angry. Either someone got morbidly injured, or it was just plain creepy. For one, he didn't talk when he was angry.

Definitely creepy.

"Let's just go," Edward sighed, waving his hand in the air in little circles, "It's not worth it arguing with this-"

Alphonse sighed, "_Fine_."

Kaori walked in the room, "Ed, are you free tonight?"

Mustang whistled, and Ed glared at him before looking back at Kaori, "Alphonse, the Brigadier General, and I are going to a club tonight."

"So is Hawkeye," Mustang reminded them.

Hawkeye's head snapped up, and she glared at everyone, "Who said I'm going anywhere?" She quickly covered her mouth, then said, "I-I'll go." _Don't disobey orders!_, she told herself, even though she knew her loyalty had nothing to do with this.

"Can I come?" Kaori blinked hopefully. Alphonse looked at Edward skeptically.

"Errrr…" Ed frowned, then sighed and closed his eyes, "Sure. Yes, you can come."

"Hooray!" Kaori grinned and jumped in the air. Then, she gasped, "I have to go study! Bye, Edward-senpai! Bye, Alphonse-senpai! Bye, Roy-dono!"

"She respects me?" Roy blinked.

**Author's Note: The honorific "domo" is a form of respect.**

"Oh, _nooo_, of course she doesn't," Edward rolled his eyes.

~*~

"What to wear, what to wear…"

Kaori studied the insides of her closet, rubbing her chin with her right and putting her left hand on her hip. She just couldn't decide.

Not that Edward-senpai would approve of her choosing special clothes just for him, but her excuse was: "I'm a girl!"

_I mean, he always complains that Winry-chan is ungirly._

She undressed down to her bra and underwear, and closed the door to the apartment Edward had paid for her to live in. Then, she regarded her clothes closet once more.

She put on a plain black shirt, then a black-and-gray striped tie, then a thin, dark red plaid shirt over it. She left the button-down plaid shirt open. Then, she slipped into a short gray skirt and dark gray-almost black-socks that went just above her knees. Then, she tied the ties on the black boots she had that closely fitted her feet and shins.

She faced the mirror and bent her right leg to the side and put her hands on her hips. She squinted. It needed something.

She grabbed a straw hat with two pink roses poking out of the side of the hat. Pouting, Kaori then tied a dark red and silver-black ribbon around the base of the hat, then she studied herself in the mirror again.

No. This wasn't good enough for a club, nevermind Edward-sama.

**Author's Note: Okay, I should just put the honorifics up:**

**Sama=**** a respectful term, used for a person who is in a status above your own, has gained great respect from you, or is a important or wealthy person, possibly even a formal sign of respect for a superior.  
****San=**** a polite honorific used when meeting a person. EXAMPLE: **_**"Ohayo, Nekomata-san, Daijobou?"**_** and is used when you are not close to the person but is less formal than "sama" and also does not require great respect for that person.  
****Chan=**** this can generally be used for either girls or boys. this indicates friendship or being close to that person, and may even be used as a general honorific for young children.  
****Kun=**** can be used for last names EXAMPLE: **_**"Mitarati-kun".**_** is used by a superior to that person. it can also be used for an object of affection, or to a close friend. Also used to mainly boys, as chan is to mostly girls.  
****(no Honorific)=**** this indicates you are VERY close to the person- be it romantically or otherwise- and can also be a form of disrespect.  
****Teme=**** "Bastard" is a sign of disrespect or even competitive, may be used to describe that person or to redicule them.  
****Baka=**** "Idiot, fool, jerk" can be a insult but if the people are close can be a term of endearment.  
****Koi=**** means "love" in a romanctic way.  
****Danna=**** "Master" or "First Husband"  
****Otto=**** simple meaning for "husband"  
****Onna=**** "Little Girl"  
****Dono=**** form of respect.  
****Sensei=**** means "teacher". usually used with the first name. EXAMPLE: **_**"Mizuru-sensei"**_**.  
****Shishou=**** also means "Teacher".**

**These are also on my profile, too.**

Kaori huffed and dressed down to her underwear again, and as she was folding her clothes and putting them in drawers, she caught a glance of herself in the mirror.

She had a bra that pushed her breasts up and together, revealing a lot of cleavage, and tight-fitting underwear.

She posed again, and smiled. She liked her body.

Kaori rummaged through her clothes again, and ended up with black-and-white high-tops that stretched up to the middle of her shins, and white socks that went an inch above that. She had obsidian black bracelets that covered her wrists and two very thin, silver bracelets above the black bracelet on her left wrist. Her top was a simple black t-shirt that showed off her figure and stopped at her waist, and the collar stretched all the way up her neck. She also had a red, plaid school girl skirt under that that just covered the tops of her thighs.

Now, to cover her stomach so Edward would go ballistic and Alphonse wouldn't nosebleed.

She studied her clothes for a long time, then finally picked up a medium-thick, black jacket with a zipper and a hood that ALSO fit her slim body tightly. The tight clothes weren't too tight-they just showed off her figure.

Someone knocked on the door just then. "Kaori, hurry up!" Edward called through the door.

Giggling, Kaori slipped the jacket on, then noticed her hair would be bunched up in the hood. She took the jacket off quickly, hastily cut a small, circular hole in the base of the hood, and put the jacket on again just as Edward knocked again.

"Come on!" he called impatiently.

"Com-_ing_!" Kaori smiled, opening the door.

Edward was about to say something, when his lips parted slightly in awe. He looked Kaori up and down, then blinked, and then looked at her body again. His jaw and arms slackened. Even Ed's auto-mail arm seemed to loosen up in surprise.

"What?" Kaori blinked innocently.

Edward didn't respond. With words. Instead, he started breathing quickly.

Alphonse looked at his brother's face, "N-nii-san?"

Kaori frowned, and then decided to snap him out of it. She liked his attention-she didn't like it when a boy's instincts started to take over and it got creepy at the same time. "EDWARD!" Kaori screamed, snapping her fingers in front of Ed's face.

"AHHHH!" Ed fell back into Alphonse's arms. When he saw it was Kaori-and not Roy-he sighed with relief, "Let's go now." Alphonse dropped Edward.

Kaori smiled and laughed as the older brother chased his younger brother down the hall.

**Author's Note: Please review, or Kaori will undress in front of you! Wait a minute…**

**Kaori: *glare* No way in hell. *folds arms and glares again***

**Okay. EDWARD will undress!**

**Kaori: *eyes bug out* Really? I mean, ew! I mean…**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of Hiromu Arakawa's ideas. If I come up with one, it is by coincidence.**

Kaori entered the club, and her eyes sparkled, "Whaaaaaaaa!"

It looked like a typical club, but Kaori had only glanced inside one club once, a few years back. The walls and floor were solid, slick, and black, but lights of every neon color flashed and shone in beams around the room. A white bar was off to one side with a bunch of colored drinks appealing to the eye.

"It's wonderful!" Kaori beamed, "It's the Hell's Cradle!"

Roy laughed, "Why don't you youngsters go off and have some fun?"

"I'm not young!" Edward snarled defensively, then stormed off a few steps. But, suddenly, Kaori grabbed the brothers by the wrists and pulled them towards the dance floor.

"No! Kaori!" Edward screamed, pulling towards the exit.

"Kaori!" Alphonse struggled towards the bar.

Seeing their discomfort, she sighed and went towards the bar. "I'm sorry," she frowned and sat on one of the swivel chairs sadly.

"It's okay," Edward mumbled. Alphonse repeated this louder than his brother over the eardrum-pounding music.

"Ed, isn't it your birthday today?" Kaori blinked, asking this suddenly.

Edward was taken aback, "Y-yes. How'd you know?"

"Why don't you have a drink? You're 18, after all," Kaori slurred, a sly smile appearing on her face.

Alphonse frowned, then smiled and looked at his brother, "It's not like we go to clubs every day, brother. Have a drink."

Ed shrunk back. He wished he could have used his "no alcohol for minors" rule, but as of today, he was a grown man by law. "Al-_right_," he sighed, grunting defensively. He waved a bartender over, motioning for the man to notice him.

Instead, a girl with revealing, tight-fitting clothes walked over and leaned towards Edward, "How may I help you?"

Alphonse blinked, and the blonde girl winked over at him. Kaori grunted angrily and defensively, but the girl flashed an evil smile at her, so quick that Edward didn't catch it. He was too fazed by the blonde's appearance.

"S-something with alcohol in it," Edward slurred, dazed. He loosened up, his head cocked towards his left shoulder. A sweet smile appeared on Fullmetal's face, the white pearls in his mouth flashing pink, green, and blue because of the flashing signs in the back of a bar.

"What about you, honey pie?" she asked Alphonse. The girl winked at Ed, the State Alchemist melting under her gaze, then she turned to Alphonse and gave _him _a wink.

Al had been indifferent to the female bartender _before _she had worked her "magic" on him. Now…

…he was the same pile of mush as his brother, "What he said."

"Excellent," the blonde flashed a smile at Alphonse, and Kaori had to push Al back towards the counter of the bar before he fell backwards off his chair.

"Um, can I-" Kaori put up a finger, but the blonde ignored her and moved to the back of the bar, dipping into different drinks with her finger and tasting each.

"Gross," Kaori muttered as Blondie filled up two curved glasses-flat at the bottom, then thin, then getting wider towards the top-with alcoholic drinks. She waltzed back towards the three teenagers and set down the two drinks in front of the boys. "Drink up!" Blondie giggled.

Meanwhile, Roy and Riza were slow dancing to a rap song.

"This isn't what I had in mind," Roy muttered into Riza's ear as a couple laughed at them and shoved them aside.

"Then why are you still dancing, sir?" Riza asked him.

"Don't call me 'sir'."

"I'm sorry."

"I can't just push a woman away," Roy smiled at Riza. The disciplined woman gave him a slight smile back, and pulled him off the dance floor, "Why don't we have a drink?"

"Just what I had in mind."

~*~

"What's your name?"

Edward wasn't dazed anymore. Now, he was very intrigued by Blondie. He leaned his head on his fleshed hand, smirking alluringly at Blondie. Alphonse hadn't touched his drink yet-he had come to his senses right when he had his lips on the glass. On the other hand, Edward's glass was half-empty, or half-full, as some say.

"My name's Victoria."

"Like Victoria's Secret?" Edward leaned forward even more, his grin widening. He liked this fact-if you took into account that he was drunk.

"Precisely," Victoria giggled.

Kaori snorted. She hated this manipulative girl. She wished she could transmute her face into a statue of the Armstrong mansion.

"You're smarter than you look," Edward wiggled his eyebrows, which made Victoria giggle.

"Well, that's what everyone says when they first meet me. Beforehand, they think I'm a-"

"That's-" Kaori was about to say, when Alphonse interrupted her.

"Nice," the dirty blonde smirked. He was drunk, but only on the girl's physique. He hadn't felt this way since Winry.

_Winry._

Alphonse's eyes widened as Victoria and Edward kept talking. He couldn't betray Winry. He didn't want to think of her as a preppy school girl, but, yes, she was his _girlfriend_. _And I'm her boyfriend_, Al growled to himself, _So I can't let myself go. I wish Winry were here. She'd knock Edward to his senses. I don't know if Edward has a love life or not, but I wouldn't want this girl as my sister-in-law, either. And I'm not ready for nieces and nephews anytime soon. Plus, she looks 21! That's three years older than Nii-san!_

During all this thinking, Al was silent. He decided he'd just converse with Victoria, but not seem interested. And that's when he felt a dark energy coming from behind him…

He looked over his shoulder and shivered in fright. Kaori looked murderous.

"What are you looking at, Mr. I'm-Aroused?" she snapped. Alphonse was taken aback, "I-I'm sorry, Kaori! At least I'm not drunk, like Nii-san…"

At the mention of Edward, Kaori suddenly sulked. Alphonse perked up, _So she _does _like Nii-san. I can't let Victoria get away with this!_

Kaori thought she saw determination in Alphonse's eyes. _What are you thinking, Alphonse-senpai?_ , she wondered.

"So, Victoria, what do you do on weekend nights?" Edward asked just as Kaori's attention shifted from Al to Ed.

This seemed to finally piss her off. She quickly stood up, almost knocking over Al's drink. The dirty blonde gasped and settled the drink.

"I'm leaving," she declared snottily and angrily, then stormed off. She had almost stepped off the purple-rimmed platform when she whipped around. Satisfied that she had all three blondes' attention, she stomped back to the bar.

"Oh, I almost forgot," she snarled, knocking Al's drink over. The blue drink almost splashed onto Victoria's boots if she hadn't jumped back in time.

"That-" Victoria shouted, then she muttered extremely foul words under her breath.

Edward blinked, "What's gotten into her?"

"She's just being a-"

Before Victoria could repeat what she said under her breath, Alphonse quickly stood up, making himself dizzy. Ed and Victoria looked at him expectantly.

"Kaori needs help. I'm sure she appreciates you helping," Alphonse spat at his older brother, then searched for Kaori in the dense crowd.

"Kaori? What a wimpy name," Victoria leaned on her hand and sighed, tsk-tsking and shaking her head.

"Nevermind her…" Edward swiveled back around and smiled alluringly at Victoria, "What about you?"

Victoria and Ed leaned in at the same time, their lips caressing each other's like feathers. Ed pulled back after one kiss and grinned.

Kaori, who hadn't been found by Al yet, had seen this. She snarled, whipped around, and bumped straight into Al.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

"Alphonse!" Kaori blinked in surprise.

"Kaori! There you are…" Alphonse studied her face, then looked over Kaori shoulder. Edward had just broken away from a kiss, and his face was very close to Victoria's.

"Oh," Alphonse said sadly, his shoulders sagging. Kaori would never forgive Edward.

While Kaori and Alphonse were lost in the crowd and their own conversation, "Edward" turned into Envy.

Victoria was surprised. "W-who are you?"

"The name's Envy, Sweet-lips," Envy licked his lips and grinned his shark-toothed grin. Victoria smirked, "Well, it doesn't matter _who_ you are…"

Suddenly, Envy froze. "Fullmetal," he growled under his breath, then smiled at Victoria, "Well, I gotta run. Thanks for the drink and kiss." He pecked Victoria on the lips and ran out the back exit just as Edward Elric, panting, crashed through the front door.

He was dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt, and dark blue jacket and pants. He gripped his knees for support, "Kaori's gonna be _soooo_ mad…" Then, he spotted Kaori, and chuckled, "There she is…"

He ran up to them and smiled, "Sorry I'm late."

"What? From your kissing session?!" Kaori spat in Edward face and spun on her heels, stalking off into the crowd. Edward turned to Alphonse.

The younger of the two immediately understood. Predicaments like this often came up between them, so Alphonse had immediately recognized the threat. The other "Edward" wasn't Nii-san at all.

"I was about to say 'Screw you for kissing Victoria', but I changed my mind," Alphonse looked slightly disappointed. He knew there was a good chance Edward would've kissed Victoria if it were him and not Envy impersonating him, especially since he would be drunk. Luckily, his older brother wasn't in that state right now.

"Wait, so what's happening? I'm thoroughly confused," Edward frowned, his face showing lots of worry.

"Well, Envy came and impersonated you-"

"WHAT?!"

"-and he made it look like you got drunk and kissed a bartender named Victoria, who completely _ignored_ Kaori and tried to arouse _us_."

"WHAT?!" Edward's jaw looked ready to drop to the floor, "But I would never!"

"Envy got drunk, remember?" Alphonse glared at him.

"But…I see," Edward lowered his eyes, "I knew I shouldn't have gone to save that _cat_ in that _alley_…" Ed glared at his younger brother.

"A policeman was letting his Doberman _maul _it!" Alphonse complained.

"Anyway, we gotta go convince Kaori that wasn't me," Edward huffed and clenched his fist.

" 'Convince' isn't the right word…what about, 'Let her pummel you to half-death for letting yourself be impersonated by a stupid homunculus'?"

"That works anyway. Come on."

Kaori sat down on a bench, pouting with her arms and legs crossed. She _hated_ Edward-teme. She'd never forgive him.

_Yes_, she growled in her mind, _he is Edward-teme, Edward-baka! Evil, evil, evil! I'll never study under him again!_

"Something wrong, milady?"

She looked up, an angry expression on her face. A man with blue, spiky hair stood above her. He wore a thin white t-shirt with a dark navy blue button-down shirt over it, and had on tight, red pants. His shoes, like hers, were black-and-white high-tops, but they didn't even cover his ankles, which were bare just because the pants didn't go down that far.

"My idol just left me for a fucking _bartender_," Kaori looked away.

The man chuckled. He looked to be about 19. He held out his hand, "Then may I have this dance?"

"You're acting awfully fancy for a song like this," Kaori muttered, standing up with her arms still crossed.

"That's just me," the man grinned, "And the song is… 'Period' by Chemistry, right?"

"How do you know?" Kaori smiled and took the man's hand.

"It's the 4th opening to Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime series," the man replied, shrugging simply as he stopped and turned towards Kaori.

Kaori scowled, and the man laughed, "Ah, so the Fullmetal Alchemist betrayed you, is that it?"

"Yes," Kaori scowled even more.

"Don't be sad," he said softly, and he started swaying side to side unconfidently.

She didn't know how do dance to this song either, so she copied him, "What is your name, anyway?"

"Being cautious, eh? I like girls like you," the blue-haired man smiled for what seemed like the umpteenth time, "My name's Akio. It means "bright" in Japanese." Akio put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

" 'Akio' can also mean 'husband', 'man', 'hero', 'manly'…" Kaori realized what was coming out of her mouth, and she blushed a deep red.

"It's 'kay," Akio smiled and held her shoulders. Kaori couldn't help but giggle. She was lost in the moment.

Edward skidded to a halt when he saw Kaori and _a man _dancing. He suddenly grew angry. He hadn't seen this guy before. How does she know he isn't Envy in disguse? Or some pervert, like 50% of club-goers in clubs like these are? He stormed forward.

"Edward, wait!" Alphonse reached out for his brother, but didn't dare follow. This was Edward's problem, and Edward's problem alone.

"Who're you?!" Edward shoved his face near Akio's, glaring at the blue-haired man. Kaori stepped back in surprise and huffed, putting her hands on her hips, "Butt out, Edward-teme."

" '-Teme'? Ouch," Akio shivered, then turned to Ed and smirked, "I'm Akio Ayumu."

" 'Ayumu'. It means to walk your own way. I hope that isn't down _that path_," Ed snarled, leaning in closer and baring his teeth.

"Butt out!" Kaori cried out, shoving Ed's shoulder. The State Alchemist didn't move.

"Whatever do you mean?" Akio smirked. He was a good half-foot taller than Edward, "A well-deserving woman deserves a well-deserving man. Who _doesn't _skip off into the sunset with a bartender."

"I'm angry you didn't swear, because that wasn't me," Ed snarled.

"Eh? How so?" Akio leaned forward. He was menacing, but Edward wouldn't back down.

"I told you-"

"Yeah right. You're going to say some creature transformed into you and kissed that bartender girl. I can't be fooled. Why don't you go and kiss her again? It's worth the while," Akio smiled evilly, "Mean_while_, this beautiful lady and I can have some…_fun_-"

Edward snarled and leapt at Akio, knocking him down. On the dance floor the two fought, Edward throwing in blind, angry punches and Akio blocked hastily, eyes wide. Akio's mouth was in a thin line with concentration.

"Edward! Akio-sama!" Kaori's eyes widened and she put her hands over her mouth.

Edward threw in a punch with his right hand that broke Akio's left arm, and bashed his right thigh to pieces with his auto-mail knee. Edward snarled, the noise ripping the air, and raised up his auto-mail hand-which now had transmuted spikes on it-when Alphonse pulled his brother off of Akio and dragged him back.

People had made a huge circle around the four teenagers, eyes wide. The last of the people shouting "FIGHT, FIGHT!" had just stopped their chants.

"Let's go home," Alphonse advised his brother and Nii-san's student.

"It was Envy! I swear!" Edward threw his arms up in exasperation.

"Oh, like I care?" Kaori spat evilly, "Drunk, it doesn't matter who you are. Sex just COMES to mind!!!"

"I'm not perverted, though!"

"But you're still male!" Kaori huffed and spun around again, "And that's, that!"

Edward slouched where he stood, eyes wide and mouth agape, "What?" He said this almost to himself, "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

Kaori glared lasers at the hotel-apartment wall in front of her.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Edward threw his arms up again, but this time he was angry, "KAORI, YOU KNOW GOD DAMN WELL-"

"What?! I know WHAT?!" Kaori snarled, face-to-face with Ed, "THAT I CAN'T HAVE YOU? BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO BUSY? YOU ALREADY DUMPED ONE PERSON! I CAN'T HAVE THAT AGAIN! I'LL JUST SAVE YOU THE TIME! WHY DIDN'T I SEE THIS WHEN I MET YOU? I COULD'VE LEFT YOU TO DIE!"

"Armstrong would've saved him," Alphonse sat on a sofa-chair, sipping tea calmly. But, in reality, inside, his soul was bouncing around madly, wanting to do something. But he could've ALWAYS fought his brother's fights, especially in this situation. Only it would be a problem if Ed still had a 2-year-old's mind at 40…

Kaori whipped around and pointed a finger at Alphonse, "AND…YOU!"

"Me?" Alphonse sputtered.

"Yes, you! You know god damn well that you could've stopped and beat the crap out of Envy, IF I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE THIS DAMN BASTARD!" Kaori pointed twice at Alphonse, then at Ed.

Ed, being a person who was not socially etiquette, spoke up, "Are you still going on the mission with us?"

"Oh, are you begging me now?" Kaori stared at him, murder spelt out carefully in her glaring eyes.

"N-no, I just-"

"I'll go with you, but I'm going on my own," Kaori crossed her arms and huffed.

"You barely know alchemy! I know personally you don't know how to transmute a DOLL!" Edward gasped.

Alphonse spit out his tea, "Wait a minute…"

Kaori and Ed looked at Alphonse expectantly. Alphonse looked away from Kaori so he didn't let her have the chance to melt him under her gaze.

"I just realized you two are a great couple, together. You know…Kaori's like Winry, in a way."

Within the next few moments, Alphonse was mentally chasing his soul and begging it to come back while he semi-unconsciously laid on the floor in an awkward position.

"HIIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAHHH!"

Ed laid on the sidewalk in front of Kaori's hotel, blood flooding out of his nose and mouth.

"And THAT'S for being an ASSHOLE!" Kaori spat, then walked away.

Today, Kaori Nichibotsu was wearing a white, thin button-up shirt with thin, vertical blue and green stripes. Underneath she wore a light green tank top that went nicely with her figure. She also wore dark blue jeans and white shoes with pink checkmarks on each side, representing a favorable sports store.

"Ass…hole…" Ed murmured, crazed. Alphonse sighed and dragged his unconscious brother and their suitcase along to the train station.

When they finally got on the train to Briggs, where the Cave of Gates would lay near-since it moved about an inch per century (lucky for them)-Kaori thought about her mental promise to Edward.

"_**I'm sticking by Edward's side, no matter what.**_

_**In love…**_

_**In friendship…**_

_**Or whatever Edward Elric the Fullmetal Alchemist regards me with, I'm his partner. I'm with him in this.**_"

Kaori held her head in her hands. She was in the seat behind…no, in front of…no behind…well, she was NEXT to Ed and Al's seat.

"_**Couples…couples work the hardest of all.**_

_**The world's system…no, the system bigger than the universe needs us. And that is what alchemy is all about. The taboo…everything. No wonder Edward cried…and Edward needs me too. Once we get back, he'll never admit it to anyone, not even me…but we need each other…he will be my teacher, and me his supporting protégée…**_"

Kaori Nichibotsu wished she could stick to that promise. But not after her outburst at…

"_**I'm his protégée**_**,** _Kaori reminded herself, and she nodded,_ _**His SUPPORTING protégée…who cares for him…**_ _'I will. But if you need anything, I'll be more than glad to help you with anything you need.'_

'_Hey, I'm not your teacher or anything,' Edward laughed and stood up._

_Kaori stood up as well and giggled happily_, _**You are to me, Edo-kun.**_

_**You are to me.**_

_**And possibly more…**_"

Kaori suddenly sat up, jumping in her seat as she realized something. Her banging around caused the suitcase cupboard above her head to open up, her suitcase to fall on onto the seat, bounce towards her, and hit her in the side of her head, causing her to smack against the window painfully.

Edward and Alphonse jumped in surprise and turned around, leaning over the seat, "KAORI!"

"I-I'm fine," she waved a hand through the mess of supplies that had come out of her baggage.

"At least she's talking to me again," Edward sighed under his breath.

ARRIVING AT BRIGGS, the mechanical train boomed.

As people got up, almost as if they were told to do so in a synchronized fashion, Edward groaned out loud, "Whatever happened to good old-fashioned, wooden and metal trains? With actual CONDUCTORS?"

Alphonse frowned, "What about Kip? On that last train."

"Ah, Kip doesn't count. He's a good man," Edward got up and stretched, "Come on, Alphonse, Kaori. The train'll leave soon."

Kaori, having stuffed her belongings back into her suitcase, complied with Ed's words and got to her feet, "Ready."

Alphonse nodded to his brother, and the trio headed towards the nearest exit.

"I SEE YOU'VE ARRIVED!"

"YAHHHHH!" all three teens threw their baggage up in the air in surprise.

Armstrong sparkled with his arms wide, approaching the three, "HELLO, MY DEAR ALCHEMISTS!"

"No!" Edward screamed.

"Stay away!" Alphonse yowled.

"Come near me and I'll…I'll…" Kaori started.

The three men stared at her.

"I'll…I'll…I'll…" Kaori continued, her eyes seemingly distant and her head cocked to the side as her muscles lagged.

"I'LL…park the car," Edward growled, pushing Kaori by her shoulders.

"H-hey! W-what car?!" Kaori yelped, coming back to reality as the Fullmetal Alchemist pushed her around the corner.

"And they'll be sucking each other's faces any time now," a new voice said.

Alphonse whipped around in surprise as Major Armstrong saluted when he turned around, "Brigadier General Mustang.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Fuery, Breda, Havoc, Falman," Alphonse finished with a bored tone.

"Hey, don't be rude!" Havoc chuckled loudly, putting his arm around Alphonse's shoulders. The dirty blonde was squeamish and uncomfortable under Havoc's grip. Specks of tobacco fell from the cigarette in Havoc's mouth.

"Now, now, didn't I tell you to dispose of that on the train?" Mustang chided playfully.

"You were on the same train as us?" Alphonse's eyes widened, _Now that I think about it, that train was mighty big…_

"Probably the one before," Hawkeye informed the teen.

Meanwhile, behind the pillar (where Edward continued to push Kaori towards until she finally leapt out of his grasp and glared at him), Kaori and Edward were having a quiet, but heated, quarrel.

"Stop repeating things you've said! Make up your mind for once in your life, woman!" Edward growled, annoyed.

"_**I'm sticking by Edward's side, no matter what.**_"

Kaori wanted to hint at her love. Maybe he'd get the DAMN idea! "I already have!"

"Obviously, with THAT performance back there, you HAVEN'T!" Edward snapped.

"_**In love…**_"

"Maybe I need to explain my feelings in other words or actions, then!" Kaori narrowed her eyes dangerously, "I'm not the shy girl I once was! And YOU'RE…holding me BACK!"

"YOU'RE holding yourself back!" Edward countered, his mouth a thin line, "YOU make your own decisions!"

"_**Couples…couples work the hardest of all.**_"

"Some things can't be done without someone else by your side! And I'm not talking about a weeping little girl who needs strength from her friends!" Kaori answered him quickly, her voice escalating in tone.

"Then what ARE you talking about?" Edward asked her, exasperated. He threw his arms out to the side to show his annoyance while he said this.

"_**He will be my teacher, and me his supporting protégée…**_"

"Maybe…I'm talking about…" Kaori wanted to press her lips against his, and kick him in the balls. It was 50-50. She had NO idea what to do at the moment. So she did nothing-yet.

_No. I want…I've got to admit to myself…_

_He will be my lover, and me HIS lover. I want…him to love me. But, first, I have to love him._

_I LOVE EDWARD ELRIC._

"I-I'm talking about-"

"HERE WE GO AGAIN!" Edward turned around and stretched his hands to the heavens in pleading, "Again, with the repetition!"

"I can't say it…" Kaori hung her head.

"Good! It's better if you just shut the hell up," Edward huffed indignantly, picked up his dropped, red jacket; and walked back over to the group of military personnel and his brother.

"If only you knew how much your words were hurting me," Kaori whispered softly to herself, bringing her clenched hands up to her hurting chest, "Maybe you need someone stronger-NO! I am your only one.

"Tsk, I sound like a fangirl," Kaori sighed sadly, then her eyes hardened into onyx crystals, "_I_ will become stronger. I love you, Edward Elric, more than anyone else. I don't want to push Winry Rockbell out of your life…but…"

Kaori looked up at particularly no one with determination set in her solid eyes, "I will confess my love to you."

She started to lose her balance. She saw green, then white, then sky blue, and then a shadowy black that could be recognized as closed eyes.

Suddenly, a shade of red surrounded the black-haired girl as she blushed, who was on the floor with her soul flying circles around her, "…When I summon the courage…gack…"

**Author's Note: I WILL MAKE LONGER CHAPTERS! Heh, sorry for the short notice. Get READY! Mwaahahha! **

"You are _so_ short."

"Are NOT!"

"Are TOO. See, you're shorter than Pitt. You're shorter than ME. Don't deny it, dammit."

"Have you ever heard of _EXCLAMATION MARKS?_"

"Oh, look, an ox!"

"DON'T IGNORE ME, WOMAN!"

"I'm a woman?"

"No, you're an asshole with bear-sized tits-"

Suddenly, Edward's face was driven deep into the snow, a blond, short-haired girl standing over him.

All of the military personnel, the Elric brothers, Kaori Nichibotsu, Pitt Seed, and this new girl-named Carrie Mahogany-were now on the mission. Pitt, because of his expertise in medics (well, mostly because he was sick of his now not-sick father). Carrie, because of her suddenly heightened skill in alchemy. Just days before, she was the daughter of a low-status (but strong and respected by his friends and enemies) Briggs solider, knowing only the basics of the basics of alchemy. Now, she was as reputable as Alphonse Elric (or nearing it).

At the mention of her also _very _reputable chest, Carrie had flipped Edward over and stuck his head into the snow. The steam blowing from every hole in her head melted the snow-around her _feet_.

"Well, at least we're backed up from all the commotion over there," Kaori giggled nervously for the umpteenth time.

Edward groaned loudly, and squawked even louder and shriller when Mustang leapt onto his back, claiming to be escaping the "wetness on the ground".

"GET THE HELL OFF ME!"

"That sounds wrong, Edo-kun!" Kaori giggled yet again.

"E_ro_-KUN!" Roy chanted, "ERO-KUN, ERO-KUN! ERO-KUN!"

"I am NOT a pervert!" Ed squawked angrily.

"Are SO!" Kaori giggled.

"Ooh, what have YOU been doing in your spare time? Naughty boy!" Roy laughed, and jumped even higher on Fullmetal's spine, "NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY-"

_BAM!_

Riza held her gun out in front of her, her caramel-colored eyes narrowed, "I am sure it would help the current situation, sir, if you would stop jumping on Major Elric and help us formulate a plan. Sir."

"_Sir, sir_. What's with the fuckin' sir? Blah, blah, BLAH," Mustang stepped off of Ed's back carefully and shook his head side to side, tapping his finger-tips together in an effort to make his hands say, "Blah, blah, blahhhhh." It was obvious the brigadier general had somehow gotten drunk on his way up the mountain.

It was probably a Briggs solider. If trouble was intended, it was probably Olivier Armstrong or one of her subordinates.

"This is going to be a long trip," Kaori sighed.

"IT WILL BE A LONG TRIP, IF MY MUSCLES-FROM GENERATIONS OF MUSCLELATION-WILL START WORKING, UNFREEZE, AND KEEP EVERYONE WARM!"

"I'D RATHER DIE IN A HOLE, GODDAMN IT!" it was Al, this time, who screamed.

Unfortunately for him, Carrie transmuted a hole under Al, and suddenly the alchemist was nowhere in plain sight.

Pitt frowned and furrowed his brow, "So…do they teach you guys alchemy in rehab or something?"


	14. Part 1 End: Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Here."

Kaori pointed towards a crack in the wall of the cliff, "It must be here. See the crack? Plus, there are transmutation marks here, Sensei."

"Good," Edward sounded rather blunt, and blushed as he pushed past Kaori, "Can you open it?"

"Lemme see…" Kaori drew a circle, then started drawing lines and symbols within the circle.

"What's that?" Alphonse inquired, "That doesn't look like anything I've seen-"

"Shut up," Edward hissed at Al, then turned back to the wall as he put his hands on his hips, "Continue."

Kaori nodded, and placed her hands-or rather, her mittens-on the rock wall. A golden light sprung from the odd transmutation circle, shining more like the oblique rays of the sun than a transmutational flash and/or spark.

All of a sudden, the light from the transmutation intensified, blinding almost everyone behind Kaori. Kaori herself had an almost irresistible urge to take her hands off the circle and cover her watering eyes. Instead, she let herself cry and faced the light boldly-or with a lot of stupidity.

The wall shifted, and dust fell off of the wall, making Kaori cough. The crack split open and a door spread out over the deep cavern opening in front of them. Now the opening was thicker and the door no longer existed.

"Good job, Kaori-san," Ed didn't even glance at Kaori when he entered the cavern, "Let's go."

Roy hiccupped giddily and skipped behind the blonde, followed closely with a readily armed Hawkeye, a sparkling Armstrong, a patrol consisting of Breda, Falman, Havoc, and Fuery; Carrie Mahogany, Pitt Sead, Alphonse Elric, and a hesitant Kaori Nichibotsu.

She decided to talk to Ed when they set camp.

**~*~Thus!~*~**

"Can someone _please _transmute some wood to burn?" Edward growled impatiently.

"Come on, Nii-san. Be more patient," Alphonse quietly chided.

"Whatever!" Edward threw his arms up, "We're setting camp, and we need to get warm. We're probably gone half the radius of the mountain, and it's getting really cold. If I don't have a fire this instant, I'm gonna freeze my ass into ice cubes!"

"Fire?" Roy, who seemed to be a little more rational for the time being, looked up with a glitter in his eye.

"I swear to God, you pyromaniac…" Carrie sneered at Roy.

"I'm very useful in this situation! If you don't want my help, I'll gladly make some iced tea from Fullmetal's so-called ass," Roy glanced at Ed out of the corner of his eye, "If he has one."

"Don't question my sex appeal!" Edward growled.

"Stop _talking _about sex appeal…" Riza sighed while cleaning her gun with melted ice.

"Erm…how about we play a game?" Kaori smiled hopefully, "While some others go search for something to transmute into wood or something."

"This isn't a game. We're tracking down homunculus wanna-be's," Ed frowned.

"But, Edward-sensei…what if we start arguing and split up?" Kaori worried.

"If that were to happen, a game would be the first thing to start that," Pitt sighed, glancing at the Brigadier General and the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Don't look at me," Ed huffed.

"I didn't say anything," Pitt shrugged, "But all I will say is that some people here are very competitive, and I know that for a fact. So a game is out of the question."

"We can't all just split up, though, whether it's over a game or for some firewood, like Kaori-san mentioned," Carrie spoke up, "So some of us will have to stay here. I'm glad there's a lot of us-if there were only a few, our numbers could diminish very quickly and we'd be more vulnerable."

Edward frowned, "Well, I'd rather be with a few people than a lot. Some people are burdens."

Kaori didn't know if Edward had glanced at her-she hadn't bothered to even look at Ed once. She sat huddled against the wall, a meter away from Carrie and the middle of the group. She was glad Ed was here-it was almost completely black. She didn't know what kept it from being pitch black in the cave-she was just grateful for it, homunculus or not.

In fact, she was so grateful, she started giggling at the idea of a nightlight homunculus, staggering towards her like a penguin and being horrifically corny.

"What're you laughing at?" Edward snapped, spinning around and glaring lasers at Kaori.

"Uh-"

"Don't be so mean, Nii-san!" Al furrowed his brow, "This is the second time!"

"Calm down, Elric brothers," Armstrong sighed, his deep voice booming in the cave, "We should be friendly for the time being. You can exercise your muscles outside."

"True," Carrie huffed, "We shouldn't be fighting, although I want to kick all y'all asses."

"We could play a little truth or dare game, in fact," Pitt smiled.

"That's a good idea," Alphonse smiled at his childhood friend.

"Yeah!" Fuery grinned a small smile. Riza looked up from her gun pieces and smiled a little, "Glad you're getting along."

Kaori nodded and scooted closer to Carrie in comfort. "Here, have my scarf," Carrie offered, shaking her blonde hair out of her face.

"Er…you sure?"

"Yeah! As long as you return it."

"Thanks," Kaori smiled knowingly and wrapped the scarf around her bare neck.

"I'm used to the cold air here, so it's fine. You looked cold over there anyway," Carrie explained. Kaori nodded in thanks.

"I'll collect firewood," Edward said bluntly, then quickly stalked off into the darkness.

"Should I go…" Kaori looked at Al for an answer.

The blonde shook his head, "I'd advise not. He's pissed right now. He needs to be alone. I just hope he doesn't go too far ahead of us."

Suddenly, Kaori heard a growling noise and screamed, jumping into Carrie's lap.

"Sorry, that was me," Breda laughed heartily. Everyone else laughed along with him.

Ed, who was retreating into the darkness, growled angrily and disappeared completely into the cavern's shadows.

**~*~Thus!~*~**

"Tsk. All of them," Edward pouted, kicking a rock. He had scraped a rock against a wall and had lit a stray stick on fire, not caring from where it came from. Now he had a makeshift torch at his side, "Al, always trying to calm me down, cocky Mustang, musclehead Armstrong…Eh?"

Ed looked up at the cave ceiling, studying millions of dull and bright crystals littering the area, "Whoa…that's pretty…like-" Ed shook his head, "What am I thinking…?"

Sighing, he walked on until the cavern widened into a big area. Bigger and more numerous crystals sparkled on the floor, walls, and ceiling.

"I'll have to show this to Kaori…" Ed smiled childishly as he put his hand over a ray of light sparkling from a crystal on the ceiling. Suddenly, he frowned in horror, "Where is this light coming from…? Too much to be coming from my torch-"

He spun around and gasped just as something caught his throat and threw him to the ground.

"What the hell?" Edward struggled, trying to pull the arm-like thing off his throat. Coughing, he kicked at it, but it didn't seem to weaken it's hold any, "Get off me! I can't breathe!"

"Yeah, he can't breathe. Let 'im breathe," a geeky voice snickered.

The thing holding Ed down split in two and held down his hands. Then, each arm split in two again and held his legs down.

"Ah…I feel a draft…" Ed blushed immensely, feeling the uncomfortable, chilly air travel up all the way up his pants and freezing his underwear, "Ah…"

He could see a curvy figure walking up to him, but he didn't guess it was a girl until she appeared in the crystal room.

She was shining all over. Dark-colored silk covered the detailed parts of her body, but still left a lot of skin revealed. On her cheek was a tattoo in the shape of an _E_.

"Well, well, Nikumu told me a lot about you," she smirked, flipping black-blue hair over her shoulder. The ends of the hairs ended at her ass, and that girl had a more developed body than Hawkeye, Ed noticed, then sighed and mentally smacked himself for thinking so perversely. She continued, "Like how thick your arms and legs are, your hip measurements…"

"What?" Ed snapped, eyes widening.

"But she didn't tell me you were from Czelkless," the girl replied, battering her eyelashes at Ed's blonde hair, "How cute. A little present from King Xerxes."

"You know him?" Ed snarled, wanting to get up, but couldn't.

"Mmm, we're friends. I dumped him when he turned 30. Didn't like having fun anymore," the girl licked her lips, "He was rather yummy, though. You remind me of him."

_Maybe she's getting Hohenheim mixed up with King Xerxes-after all, a king couldn't possibly look like me, and this girl might be a homunculus. They're attracted to Philosopher's Stones, alright, _Ed pursed his lips, "What's are you called, huh?"

"E. As in the f***ing letter E," the dark blue-haired girl grinned. Then, a familiar girl entered, arms sprouted from her back.

"NIKUMU!" Ed snarled, realizing they must have come from the cave passage he had, "WHAT'VE YOU DONE WITH MY FRIENDS!"

"Oh, you brought your friends here?" Nikumu titled her head to the side, "Okay."

_Dammit!_

"E-sama, I'll take care of him," Nikumu bowed to E, "I am sorry if I offend you, but-"

"I shall destroy him," E snarled, "Destroy Fullmetal-teme. I'll target his friends."

"Thank you for the privilege, E-sama," Nikumu bowed until E disappeared in the shadows, then she smiled evilly at Ed, "Get ready."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

**~*~Thus!~*~**

"I wonder where Ed-sensei is," Kaori wondered out loud.

"Yeah, he's been gone 20 minutes, approximately," Pitt checked a pretend watch and grinned a lopsided smile, then frowned when he saw he didn't lighten the mood any.

"Should we look for him?" Havoc half stood up, arms limp by his side in uncertainty.

"You can if you want. I'm not getting up," Carrie sighed, filing her nails, "See, I have to file my nails, I'm so bored."

Havoc rolled his eyes and sat back down.

"Then again, we _could _figure out where that weird light is coming from," Carrie stood up and threw the makeshift nail filer away, and into the darkness where Kaori couldn't see.

"Let's all go. We know Fullmetal went ahead, so why not catch up?" Roy stood up and straightened his uniform, "He's probably shivering in his pants, hanging onto something."

"Okay…" Kaori stood up and dusted herself off, "You coming, Al-san?"

"Er…yeah, I guess," Alphonse slowly stood up and sighed, stretching. Many of his bones cracked, which made Kaori flinch.

"I sure am stiff," Al looked at his shoes in embarrassment, obviously worried at how long he had sat down and hadn't been moving around and being useful.

Carrie smiled, "Yosh! Okay, let's go-"

Something shot out and knocked Carrie down. She screamed as her skull cracked against the cave floor. Blood spurted out from the back of her head as she lay under the dark creature that had attacked her.

The girl who was on top of her reminded Kaori of Nikumu, and looked a lot like her, too. She hissed at everyone, "Die!"

"Who are you?" Kaori snapped, "Do you work for Nikumu?"

"Work for her? That piece of crap could wish," the girl hissed again, "I am E."

"E!" Kaori's eyes widened, "Nikumu mentioned you!"

"Mentioned? She should have killed you in my name. Dammit," E spat in Carrie's unconscious face.

Roy snarled, "Stop there. Get off of our comrade."

"I'm here to kill you all. I will not get off of her until she dies," E snarled happily, and that's when Kaori noticed that E actually weighed a lot. She was sinking into Carrie's quickly flattening chest. Hopefully she was fragile, though, because…

"YAHHHH!" Kaori lunged forward and head-butted E. E screeched and fell backwards, off of Carrie and onto the ground.

Alphonse grinned and clapped his hands. He placed them on the cave floor and spikes quickly rose out, heading straight for E. E suddenly leapt up, though, and landed on a spike, crushing it completely.

Al gasped, and Roy took his place on the battlefield, snapping with the glove that was meant for targets and not mass destruction (well, I mean, both of them are, but…). E flipped backwards as a huge explosion threw shards of spikes all over Carrie.

"You idiot!" Kaori blurted, rushing towards Carrie, "Wake up! Wake up, Carrie-san!"

"Urgh…" Carrie's eyes fluttered, "My head…is wet…water…?"

"No, it's blood," Kaori whispered as E fluttered past, the homunculus not bothering to attack them just yet, "You'll be fine. Let me…"

Kaori sighed and drew a transmutation circle on the wall, _I hope this works! _A golden light flashed, and E stopped in her tracks, just in front of a gun-ready Riza. A dirty bandage rolled out from the wall, and Kaori wiped it off before wrapping it around Carrie's head, "There. All better. We need to get out of here."

E snarled and leapt at Kaori, "ALCHEMIIIIIIST!"

"Wha-?" Kaori's eyes widened, but E seemed to slow down, and time did as well, as the golden light continued to shine, and shone way brighter than any time before. The black-haired novice alchemist could see every single chip in E's sharp, jagged teeth, and the blood that hadn't been cleaned from the monster's mouth.

She saw that Roy had been checking out E's backside, and even his eyes were wide. Kaori giggled, then got serious again. She didn't have a clue what she was doing by acting this out, but she spread her palms out in from of her and stretched her arms out as far as they could go. The golden light shone even brighter, and she heard an explosion as she was blinded by the light. Then, she went unconscious.

**A/N: And…that's the end of Part 1! I will be making chapter titles-if I remember-in Part 2! I'm just going to put all of the parts together in one fanfic so it's simple to find instead of having to go on Search or my profile to find the second or even third book (I don't know how many books I'll make-I just know it's going to be a while before it's done).**

**Also, I'll be gone from July until the start of school, which I forgot (either August or September) 'cause of Eid (Muslim holiday-it's awesome! Sweets and presents) 'Kay, that's all. I haven't A/N-ed in a long time! Soooo…I'm wondering when Al'll get to kiss Winry again…*sigh*…**


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